Thursday, January 4, 2007
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Thursday, January 4, 2007 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
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Marshall takes second, third at tourney By BARRY BURLESON Marshall Academy had some success at Brookhaven last week, but they hope to have even more there in late February. The Lady Patriots placed second in the Brookhaven Academy Holiday Tournament, while the Patriots finished third. The State AA Tournament will be played at John R. Gray Gymnasium February 19-24. “We went to Brookhaven to experience what it will be like at State AA,” head coach Craig Dailey said. “I think it will be in our favor to have already been down that road. “It was a great opportunity for us to get these games at our State AA Tournament site. The college-length court and wild basketball atmosphere can be intimidating if you aren’t familiar with it.” The Marshall Academy teams received first round byes. Second Round Kim Shaw’s 21-point performance powered the Lady Patriots to a 43-28 win over Silliman (La.) on Thursday. “Kim had a tremendous game,” Dailey said. “She really stepped up for us offensively. They had no answer for her.” Chelsea Faulkenbery added 12 points. “Chelsea had her usually exceptional defensive game, but she seems to be finding a groove on the offensive end, and that will be huge down the stretch,” Dailey said. MA led 19-16 at the half, then outscored Silliman 24-12 in the second half. “It was a good win,” Dailey said. “Silliman has been in and out of the AA polls. “Jessica (Taylor) and Hannah (Cook) had solid defensive games and helped on the boards.” Jimmy Palmer lit up the scoreboard with six threes and the Patriots knocked off Copiah 56-42 on Thursday. Palmer led the offense with 19 points. Liautaud Prophete and Seth Milliorn followed with 16 and 10, respectively. “We built up a pretty solid lead and tried to give everyone some action,” Dailey said. “This was a good win versus one of the better South AA teams.” Marshall was up 35-21 at the halftime recess. Semi-finals Traci Rodgers had the hot hand in Friday’s semis. The sophomore gunned in 24 points as the Lady Patriots rolled over Bowling Green (La.) 47-28. “Traci was lighting them up inside and out,” Dailey said. Shaw contributed 11, and Faulkenbery had nine. MA took a 19-14 advantage to the locker room at halftime and then outscored the opponent 13-6 in the third period and 15-8 in the fourth. “We finally stretched it out in the second half,” Dailey said. The Marshall boys’ challenge in the semi-finals was to hand AAA Hillcrest its first loss. They kept it close until the fourth quarter but lost 56-41. The Patriots were down 23-17 at the half. They outscored Hillcrest 20-15 in the third to cut the deficit to 38-37. Then Hillcrest went on an 18-4 run in the final period. Palmer fired in 21 points, all on threes. Milliorn was next with eight points. “Jimmy hit seven threes, but we couldn’t get much more offensive production,” Dailey said. “Hillcrest has a tough team – not undefeated (13-0) for no reason. They will be one of the better AAA teams. “Our guard play the second half was weak versus their pressure.” Title game, consolation Two teams ranked in the Top 5 in Class AA met for the championship trophy Saturday. It was nip-and-tuck most of the way with host Brookhaven pulling away in the second half for a 51-40 win. Rogers led Marshall with 15 points. Faulkenbery and Shaw added nine and eight, respectively. “Traci (Rodgers) had a very strong game against their pressure and with a few more bumps being seen it could have been even better,” Dailey said. “Brookhaven is a tough place to play for many reasons.” Brookhaven shot 19 free throws in the title game, while the Lady Patriots shot just one. “Chelsea (Faulkenbery) played well on both ends of the floor,” Dailey said. “Molly West and Candice Clarkson both had huge minutes for us.” The MA girls, which trailed 26-23 at the half, saw their record go to 21-4 on the season. The Marshall Academy boys, ranked third in AA, bounced back from the loss on Friday to beat Huntington, a highly-ranked squad in Class A, 52-42. MA jumped ahead 22-12 after first quarter. It was 31-27 at the half. “We took our film work and ate up their zone trap for 22 first-quarter points,” Dailey said. “That is a huge sign that we are improving mentally. “But turnovers late (in the game) versus the trap show we still have work to do.” Palmer was the top gun with 19 points. Milliorn was close behind with 15. Prophete had eight. “Jimmy (Palmer) is really establishing himself as a consistent offensive threat,” Dailey said. “As the rest of his game grows, he has a chance to play beyond high school. “Yo (Prophete), Jimmy and Seth (Milliorn) forced them into a triangle and two (defense) after the first quarter, and we did a good job of answering the gimmick. Seth had a good night inside versus their jumping jacks. Tyler (Sanders) and Brent (Adams) had solid games defensively and offensively. Snake (Josh Asplund) came in late to help us settle down versus their traps.” The Patriots’ season mark improved to 14-4. Schedule Marshall teams go to the state’s capital city this week to play in the Jackson Academy Tournament. Both the girls and boys opened against highly-ranked AA teams from Indianola on Wednesday. The tourney runs through Saturday. “We call this murderer’s row, and it will make us better,” Dailey said. Next Tuesday, Jan. 9, the Lady Patriots and Patriots host Lee, Ark. Report News:
(662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
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