LCHS girls edge Ole Brook; Panthers clip Lawrence Co.

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, November 21, 2012

MONTICELLO – Evening clashes between host Lawrence County and Brookhaven, in both boys’ and girls’ action, highlighted a very long and busy day of basketball in the second and concluding day of the Cougar Thanksgiving Basketball Classic. 

     In the girls’ game, Lawrence County edged Ole Brook 48-47 in a game that went right down to the wire.  Brookhaven returned the favor in the boys’ game, edging the Cougars  50-47. 

     The same two schools met just Saturday night in Brookhaven in the BHS Invitational.  While the winners were the same on Tuesday, the Lawrence County girls and the Brookhaven boys, the games were much different.  On Saturday, the Lady Cougars won by 15, and the Panthers won by 21, both relative blowouts.  On Tuesday, both games were heart-stoppers, with a large week-night crowd in attendance. 

LCHS 48, Brook 47

     After Brookhaven jumped to a brief, first-quarter lead, Vicki Rutland’s Lady Cougars appeared to take control in the second quarter, opening a 30-23 halftime lead.  LCHS went stone cold in the third quarter, scoring just 5 points and Brookhaven narrowed the lead. 

     The Lady Panthers went ahead, 36-35, with 7 minutes to go, on Fredericka Fairman’s basket.  It was back and forth after that, with numerous lead changes.  Ole Brook’s final lead came on an Archea Brothern basket with 1:05 left, which put the Lady Panthers up, 45-44. 

     With 50 seconds left, Lawrence County’s Brittany McDuffey put the Lady Cougars ahead for good, at 46-45.  Seconds later, a steal and layup basket by Cheltzie Brown  upped that margin to 3 points, and the Lady Cougars were able to hold on over a frantic final 30 seconds. 

     McDuffey carried Lawrence County, scoring 25 of the Lady Cougars’ 49 points.  She also had 4 steals.  DaKendra Collins led LCHS in rebounding with 6. 

     Christen Benson, who did not play in the Saturday game due to injury, led Brookhaven with 12 points, and Carey Crozier added 11. It was the third straight loss for Coach Freda Craft’s girls, who fell to 4-3. 

     Lawrence County improved to 4-4, after starting out 0-4.  While happy to earn the tough win, Vicki Rutland still found fault in her team’s execution.  The Lady Cougars turned the ball over 24 times in the game, 20 of them in the second half.

     “The effort’s absolutely there,” Rutland said, “but the execution is just awful at times.  To our girls’ credit, they’re willing to work hard and push through our shortcomings-our weaknesses.

     “We were 0-4 ten days ago.  Now we’re 4-4.  We’ll take it.”

Brook 58, LCHS 47

     The Brookhaven boys wholly dominated Lawrence County on Saturday, but the Cougars were determined to make a better go of it the second time around, and they did.  Brookhaven led for most of the game, but a Brandon Daniels basket with 7:12 left in the game gave the Cougars a 35-34 lead. 

     Twice in the fourth quarter, Daniels hit 3-pointers to tie the game, first at 38-38, and then at 46-46.  A Kenny Eley free throw with 1:23 left gave the Cougars their final lead, at 47-46.

       A Lazorian McNulty free throw tied the game for BHS at 47-47, Khalil Newton’s steal and basket gave the Panthers the lead for good.

     Newton and Lonnie Lenoir led Preston Wilson’s Panthers with 14 points each.  For the second straight night, Wilson was not in attendance, having been felled by the flu.  Assistant Jimmy Butler coached the Panthers in Wilson’s absence.  Brookhaven improved to 5-3 with the win. 

     Daniels had a huge night for Lawrence County, with 25 points and 10 rebounds.  No other Cougar scored more than 4 points.  Glenn Russell, Jr. pulled down 8 rebounds, and Phillip Moore handed out 3 assists.

     Along with Ole Brook and Lawrence County, the tournament also included teams from Quitman, Wayne County, Mendenhall, East Marion, Salem, and Presbyterian Christian. 

     In girls action, Presbyterian edged Wayne County 34-33 and Salem beat East Marion 56-50.