OC, Devils find foes to help end struggles



Each coming off back-to-back losses to state-ranked District 13AA foes, both Obion Central teams fared considerably better against Gibson County Friday night.
The No. 9 (Class 2A) Lady Rebels rallied for a 52-44 triumph vs. GC, while the Central boys ran away from the Pioneers 69-42.
OC is now 16-5 overall, 7-2 and in third place in league play, while the Rebels stand at 10-8 in all games and 4-5 in the district and in sixth with four weeks remaining in the regular season.
The streaking South Fulton girls continued to roll on Friday, winning for the seventh straight time with a 67-54 triumph at Humboldt. The Devilettes (13-4) are 6-2 in District 14A, trailing only league-leading and second-ranked Union City (8-0) and No. 10 Lake County, which is 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the district.
SF’s boys, however, have now lost three in a row after allowing H’boldt to rally for a 56-47 victory Friday. The Redmen (10-8, 3-5) can be encouraged that those aforementioned setbacks have come vs. quality opponents in Triple-A Dyer County, Graves County (Ky.) and the always-dangerous Vikings.
Obion Central plays twice in 13AA this week — Tuesday at home vs. Haywood and Friday at Dyersburg — while South Fulton is at home twice in 14A — against Trenton Tuesday and Bradford on Friday.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
OC 69, GC 42 (B)
The Rebels jumped out to a 15-5 first quarter lead and never looked back in whipping Gibson County (3-17, 1-9) for the second time this season.
Central had won an earlier meeting 73-57.
Shaw Logan scored 18 points and Bryan Morris chipped in with 14 on Friday as nine different OC players scored.
Logan made 8-of-15 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Morris hit 5-of-7 attempts from 2-point range and 4-of-6 from the foul line.
Brett Scillion and Mike Klein chipped in with seven points apiece.
Zack King pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds — seven of those on the offensive end. Eric Torres dished out five assists for the victors.
Central, which is now 4-3 in away games for the season, comitted just seven turnovers in the contest.
OC 52, GC 44 (G)
The Obion Central girls actually had dropped three straight for the first time since the 2005-06 season, but outscored GC 16-7 in the fourth quarter to halt that skid.
The 3-point shooting of the Lady Pioneers’ Jasamine Whittmore in the first period put OC in a 21-12 hole, but Central clawed back to within 25-23 at the half. It was 37-36 after three.
Brandi Goodman had 22 points and Rachel Jones 13 for the Rebel girls. Shannon Wiggins was just a point shy of double figures with nine.
A commanding 30-15 rebounding effort aided the Obion Central comeback.
SF 67, Humboldt 54 (G)
The Red Devilettes forced a faster pace in the opening quarter to grab a lead they would never relinquish.
Taleeah Cross and Laken Haley each put up double-doubles for South Fulton, Cross scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, with Haley adding 21 points and 10 boards. Sydney Easterwood finished with 13 points, while Ka-lon Martin yanked down a team-best 14 rebounds.
SF led 19-10 after one period and held a 37-24 advantage at the half. South Fulton then stretched that margin to 51-33 by the end of three periods.
Humboldt 56, SF 47 (B)
The Red Devils had battled back from a 13-5 first-quarter deficit to take a 35-33 lead heading into the final frame.
But the Vikings outscored SF 23-12 over the final eight minutes to send South Fulton to its fifth loss in eight district games.
The Redmen had used a 16-6 surge in the third period to go up after trailing 27-19 at the half.
Harrison Hawks continued his recent string of solid outings with 20 points and four assists. Ryan Moore Keshawn McManus finished with eight points apiece, McManus also registering seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Moore had five boards.

Published in The Messenger 1.14.13