Basketball Roundup – January 5, 2019

By Terry Futrell

It was an exciting week for basketball fans as district play resumed after the holidays, beginning the month-long grind to district tournament play in February.

Girls Basketball

Lady Jackets Earn Back-to-Back Victories Over Rockwood and Harriman

The winless Coalfield Lady Jackets vaulted from a tie for last place in the district to seventh place with a 49-20 victory over Rockwood on Thursday and a 36-29 defeat of Harriman on Friday.

The Lady Jackets decisively overpowered Rockwood 49-20 on Thursday, leaving the Lady Tigers in sole possession of last place in District 3. The Lady Jackets poured in seven 3-point shots, four by Leeah Henry and three by Gabby Lowe, as they turned in one of their best scoring performances of the season. The Lady Jackets were led by Henry with 12 points, Lowe with 11 points, and Malachi Armes with nine points.

The Lady Jackets took a 16-5 lead in the first quarter, expanded their lead to 29-8 at the half, and outscored the Lady Tigers 20-12 in the second half. The win was the first for the Lady Jackets and Rockwood remains winless for the season.

The Lady Jackets continued their victory march against Harriman on Friday, defeating the Lady Devils 36-29. Coalfield relied on balanced scoring to defeat Harriman, with eight Lady Jackets putting points on the board. Taylor Landrum led the Lady Jackets in scoring with nine points, followed by Brooklyn Seiber with seven points, and Gabby Lowe with six points. Harriman’s Micaela Goins was high scorer in the game with 10 points.

The victory over Harriman gives Coalfield a 2-5 district record, placing them in seventh place ahead of eighth-place Harriman and last-place Rockwood.

Lady Eagles Fall to Midway 56-41

With only seven players on the roster, the Oakdale Lady Eagles took on the competitive Midway Lady Greenwave on Friday, but fell short 56-41 in spite of turning in one of their most consistent offensive performances. Oakdale connected on three 3-point shots, two by Darby Francis and one by Ivy Tilson. The Lady Eagles were led in scoring by Victoria Jones with 14 points and Francis with 13 points. Midway was led by Emmy Taylor with 13 points, Caitlyn Ross with 12 points, and Emily Cawood with 10 points. The Lady Greenwave connected on six 3-point shots in the game.

The loss gives the Lady Eagles a 3-5 district record and positions them in sixth place. Midway is now 4-3 in the district and tied with Oliver Springs for fourth place.

Wartburg Prevails Over Sunbright 47-43

In an exciting game that went down to the wire, the Wartburg Lady Bulldogs knocked Sunbright from the undefeated District 3 ranks 47-43 on Friday.

Sunbright led for most of the first quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs fought back to tie the game at 12-12 at the end of one. Wartburg began the second quarter with a 10-0 scoring run, with the Lady Tigers finally getting on the board at 3:29 to go in the half. Wartburg’s full-court pressure defense was a major factor in the Lady Bulldogs pulling away to a 26-18 halftime lead.

The Lady Tigers came roaring back in the second half, outscoring Wartburg 18-5 in the third quarter. The Lady Bulldogs switched to a zone defense, which provided fewer opportunities to score in transition. Coupled with several turnovers caused by the pressing Sunbright defense, the Lady Bulldogs fell behind by 36-31 at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Bulldogs regained the lead 44-43 with 1:27 to go and held on for the 47-43 victory.

Wartburg was led by Madison Holley and Madison Williams with 13 points each, followed by Callie Johnson with 11 points. Makenna Brown scored 12 points for the Lady Tigers, followed by Taylor Cox with 10 points. The Lady Tigers outshot Wartburg from the field 20 baskets to 16, but the Lady Bulldogs had an overwhelming advantage in free throws, sinking 12 to Sunbright’s one.

The win moves Wartburg into second place in the district behind undefeated Oneida. Sunbright drops to third place in district standings.

Boys Basketball

Coalfield Falls to Rockwood 66-54

Coalfield got off to a slow start against Rockwood Thursday, scoring only nine points in the first quarter and falling behind 22-9. The Jackets matched Rockwood point0for-point in the second quarter, each team scoring 14 points. Rockwood expanded their lead by five points in the third. As they have done several times before, the Yellow Jackets had a blistering 23-point fourth quarter, but could never make up the early advantage gained by Rockwood. The Tigers held on to win 66-54.

The Yellow Jackets distributed the scoring among eight players and were led by Ashton Jones with 16 points and Nate Harvey with 12 points. Rockwood had three players in double figures, Nate Brackett with 18 points, Brett Sands with 14 points, and Tahj Bazel with 13 points.

Harriman Overpowers Coalfield 61-44

The district-leading Harriman Blue Devils made their presence known at Coalfield on Friday, taking an early 14-2 lead after the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets finally got in sync, outscoring Harriman 22-10 in the second quarter, tying the game 24-24 at the half.

Harriman pulled away in the second half with a 17-point scoring advantage, closing out the 61-44 victory.

Coalfield was led in scoring by Keigan White with 16 points and Ashton Jones with 13 points. Jaylen McCullum led the Blue Devils with 17 points, followed by Brady Stubbs with 13 points.

The victory keeps Harriman in first place in District 3 with a 6-1 record. Coalfield remains tied with Oliver Springs in last place with a 1-6 record.

Oakdale Destroys Midway 88-51

The Eagles put on a scoring exhibition, sinking 12 3-point shots as they ran away from the Greenwave 88-51 on Friday. The Eagles took a 25-17 lead after the first quarter and things only got worse for Midway after that. The Eagles outscored Midway by an average of seven points each of the last three quarters.

Oakdale had four players score in double figures. Dawson Smith led with 18 points, followed by Rhett Nelson with 17 points. Ian Goldston and Clayton Smith contributed 11 points each. Midway was led by Blaine Townsend with 17 points, followed by Jason Taylor with 10 points.

Oakdale was called for only nine fouls in the contest, compared to 20 for the Greenwave.

With the victory, Oakdale remains locked solidly in third place in District 3, while Midway remains in sixth place.

Wartburg Overpowers Sunbright 74-61

In a battle that seemed closer than the score indicated, Wartburg pulled ahead 16-9 at the end of one and held on for the 74-61 victory over visiting Sunbright Friday evening. Three-point shooting was a factor as the Bulldogs sank eight treys, compared to four for the Tigers.

Wartburg led 34-26 at the half, and expanded their lead to 52-39 after three. Both teams had their best output in the fourth quarter, each scoring 22 points.

Wartburg had four players score in double figures. Colby Justes and Caleb Constant led with 17 points each, followed by Jake Branstetter with 13 points and Elijah Langley with 11 points. Langley and Constant each scored three 3-pointers. Sunbright was led in scoring by Hunter Bunch with 18 points, followed by Josh Langley with 15 points and John Freels with 14 points. Wes Bohanan contributed nine points for the Tigers.

With the victory, Wartburg remains in second place in District 3 behind Harriman. While both have 6-1 district records, Harriman takes the number one slot by having earlier giving the Bulldogs their only loss. With a 1-5 district record, Sunbright is in seventh place.