The host Loyd Star Hornets placed four players in double figuresTuesday night on their way to a 73-49 win over the West LincolnBears.

Ron Jones pumped in 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for theHornets. Rickey Banes had a double-double, netting 11 points andpulling down 10 rebounds. Following with 10 points each were GlennThomas and Randy Fells.

In the girls game, the Lady Bears used a slow-down offense topull off a surprising 28-23 victory over the Lady Hornets.

Friday night, Loyd Star travels to Hinds AHS and West Lincolnhosts Salem.

Loyd Star 73, West Lincoln 49

The Loyd Star boys (12-6, 3-2) led West Lincoln 17-10 in thefirst quarter and 34-20 at the half. Going into the final frame,the Hornets enjoyed a 20-point, 53-33, advantage over theBears.

“Our kids wanted a little revenge,” said Loyd Star boys coachGene Britt, recalling his team’s 70-48 loss to West Lincoln Dec. 9,in the Lincoln County Round-Robin Tournament. “We played hard andexecuted well offensively. We were able to get West Lincoln in foultrouble.

“We’re starting to get better every game. We had balanced teamscoring. Everyone did their job on offense and defense. I’m glad toget the win.”

Leading the Bears (11-7, 6-0) with a double-double of 13 pointsand 11 rebounds was senior center Bradleigh Rice. Aaron Collinsfinished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.Following with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists was AaronShaw.

“Loyd Star played extremely well,” said West Lincoln coach LaneYoung. “Offensively, they did everything they wanted. Hopefully,this will be an eye-opener for our team. We have to use this gameas a learning experience.”

West Lincoln 28, Loyd Star 23

In the girls game, the Lady Bears (7-11, 4-2) spread out theiroffense to keep the Lady Hornets (13-5, 3-2) out of their game. Theteams were tied 2-all after the first quarter and Loyd Star led 8-5at the half.

In the second half, the Lady Bears put together an 11-3 scoringrun in the third quarter to carry a 16-11 lead into the finalframe.

“We did what we had to do to win,” said Young. “We made our freethrows at the end. Kacey Smith, Julie Case and Keri Easley’s freethrows were the difference in the game.”

West Lincoln finished the game going 7 of 10 from the free throwline. Loyd Star was 6 of 12.

Leading the Lady Bears with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 stealswas Hannah Knouse. Kacey Smith netted 7 points, grabbed 6 reboundsand made 2 steals.

“We were outplayed in every phase of the game,” said Loyd Stargirls coach Jan Delaughter. “West Lincoln outplayed us. WestLincoln deserved to win.”

The leading scorer for the Lady Hornets was Dakota Brooks with 9points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Haley Sones netted 8 points andhad 2 rebounds.

Seventh Grade Action

In the boys game, West Lincoln rolled to a 31-10 win over LoydStar. Leading the Bears with 10 points was De Price. Hunter Fauverscored 9 points.

The Hornets were led by Cory Funk with 6 points, followed byJerrod Bullock with 4 points.

In the girls game, Loyd Star clipped West Lincoln 9-6. The LadyHornets got 5 points from Courtney Watts followed by 4 points fromJordan Williams.

Marissa Pruski’s 4 points paced West Lincoln.