Pleasant Grove accomplished one goal of stopping Texas High guard Kyle Wright, but had no answer for 6-7 C.J. Kelly and guard Carlos Phillips.
Kelly and Phillips scored 18 points each Friday in front of a standing-room crowd at Hawks Gymnasium to lead the Tigers past Pleasant Grove, 69-55.
“Our goal was to make Phillips and their other guard (Matt Arnold) score on us,” Pleasant Grove coach Dwight McCowan said. “If they were going to beat us, Phillips was going to have to have a career night, and he did. Hats off to Phillips, they deserved to win.”
Wright hurts Hawks at charity stripe
Kyle Wright came into the game as one of the hottest 3-point shooters in the region, and he managed only one two-point field goal in the game thanks to the defensive effort of Kamren Woods. Wright finished with 12 points by hitting 10 of 12 free throws.
Free throw shooting was a big difference in the game, Texas High finishing 20 of 24 from the charity stripe. The Tigers converted 16 of 17 free throws in the second half. THS also dominated the boards 40-29, with Kelly pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds.
“Our free throw shooting in the second half might be a school record,” joked Texas High coach Keith Jones. “Those free throws down the stretch play a big part in the outcome. You can’t make a run as long as you’re making those free throws. Kelly’s rebounding tonight was about par for him. He gets a lot of second-chance points which are huge. My other big guys (Clayton Smith and Demarquis Vaughn) also did a great job. I’m proud of all of them.”
Woods gives PG only lead with free throw
The Tigers only trailed once in the game. That came on a free throw by Woods 66 seconds into the contest to make it 1-0. Texas High scored the next five points to take command. Their biggest lead was 16 (58-42) in the final minutes.
Woods was the only Hawk to score in double digits with 17 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter.
Pleasant Grove (10-11) plays at Mount Pleasant next Monday, while the Tigers visit Liberty-Eylau on Tuesday.
Lady Tigers crush Greenville, 95-16
Texas High’s girls led wire-to-wire Friday night at Tiger Gym in routing Greenville.
Kerrigan Dunn led the Lady Tigers with 22 points. Guard Mia Wilson added 18, while Antonia Porter and Amari Rhone contributed 16 each.
The Tigers travel to Royse City next Tuesday.
Lady Hawks roll at North Lamar, 57-33
PARIS, Texas – Pleasant Grove’s girls remained unbeaten in district play Friday by routing North Lamar.
Shanequa Henry sparked the Lady Hawks with 18 points, while Asia Lloyd contributed 12.
Pleasant Grove’s girls host rival Liberty-Eylau next Tuesday.
Second half explosion ignites L-E girls
Liberty-Eylau exploded for 51 second half points Friday to bounce Pittsburg in district play at the Rader Dome, 81-47.
Daycoria Meadows led the Lady Leopards with 23 points. Skylier Bailey swished three treys and scored 15 points, while Eliyah Howard and freshman Bryana Block tallied 12 and 11, respectively.
L-E (16-9) visits Pleasant Grove Tuesday.
Atlanta wins pair at Queen City
QUEEN CITY, Texas – Keyona Easter poured in 35 points and recorded an incredible 16 steals Friday in leading Atlanta’s girls past Queen City in district play, 75-34. Sheveonia Smith added 19 for the Lady Rabbs. Cece Walker paced the host team with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Atlanta’s boys also cruised past the Bulldogs, 83-29. Daimion Collins led the Rabbs with 18 points, while Hunter Allen contributed 14. Tyler Nolen tallied 12 for Queen City, now 6-12 overall and 0-3 in district. The Rabbs are 3-1 in league play.
Lady Backs stumble at Benton, 34-32
BENTON, Ark. – Arkansas High’s girls dropped a heart-breaker Friday night to Benton, which outscored the Lady Backs 11-3 from the free throw line.
Rhema Riley paced the winners with 14 points and nine rebounds. Jayla Easter had 12 points and five rebounds for Arkansas High. Staijah Taylor scored eight points, and Kiara Young contributed five for the Lady Backs.
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