Thursday, January 7, 2010
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Thursday, January 7, 2010 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
| Lady Pats second in tourney; boys 13-5 By BARRY BURLESON
Each Marshall Academy basketball team won two of three in the Magnolia Heights Classic last week, the Lady Patriots’ lone loss coming in the championship game. The MA girls defeated Lewisburg and North Delta on their way to the title contest, where they lost a two-point heartbreaker to Madison Ridgeland Academy. The Marshall boys fell to big school Briarcrest on day one of the tournament but bounced back to beat two other larger schools, Starkville Academy and St. Benedict. Lady Patriots Emily Burk scored more than half of her team’s points in a 38-28 win over Lewisburg December 28. The senior scored 20, including seven of seven from the free-throw stripe. Callie Clanton added 13 points, including three threes. MA led 24-12 at halftime. “Lewisburg was an athletic group,” coach Craig Dailey said. “The girls battled well.” The Marshall girls dominated district rival North Delta the next day, 57-31. They led 30-20 at the half and stretched the margin to 44-29 after three periods. Burk was again the top gun with 16. Kelsey Shaw and Emma Elgin added 13 apiece with each hitting three threes. Clanton scored eight. The Lady Patriots hit nine threes in the game. “North Delta has developed into a very good team, and a win like this will help us realize our potential,” he said. The MA girls were in control of the championship game for almost four quarter but let it slip away in the closing seconds. Madison Ridgeland scored off an in-bounds play with 10 seconds left and stunned Marshall 41-39 on Wednesday of last week. “This was a defensive battle and we just came up a little short,” Dailey said. “The kids showed a tremendous amount of heart in the tournament. We are really coming together as a team. I’m excited about our chances as we enter into the second half of the season.” The Lady Pats had a chance to tie the game or win it off an in-bounds play near half court with four seconds remaining but could not get a shot off. Marshall, red hot from beyond the three-point line, built its lead from the start. Shaw’s three put MA up 7-1 early. Elgin’s three made it 14-7 with 4:49 to go in the first half. The Lady Patriots were up 20-18 at intermission. Threes from Elgin and Burk put Marshall up by nine, 30-21, with 4:52 to go in the third period. The advantage was 32-27 at period’s end. But MA struggled down the stretch and Madison Ridgeland took advantage. Clanton and Elgin scored 10 each for Marshall (10-10 on the season). Burk and Shaw added nine and eight, respectively. Burk and Clanton were named to the all-tournament team. Patriots
Marshall put a scare into Briarcrest Christian School of Memphis, Tenn., before falling 60-45 on December 28. The Patriots led 29-25 at the half and trailed by just one following three periods. But the Saints went on a 22-8 run in the fourth to ice their win. Jordan Wyke gunned in 22 points for MA, including four threes. He scored 12 of his 22 in the second quarter. Caleb Byrd added 11 points, nine of those coming on three-pointers. Dailey said his Patriots fought hard and the final margin was deceiving. “The kids executed our game plan extremely well,” he said. “We learned a lot about ourselves in this game. The next day the Patriots were in cruise control throughout as they routed Starkville Academy 67-26. All 11 Patriots scored. Wyke led the way with 16, including four threes. Jake Omedeo scored 10 and Byrd eight. MA was up 34-9 at the halfway point. The Patriots then faced St. Benedict Wednesday of last week in the consolation bracket championship game. Just 11 days earlier the big school from neighboring Tennessee had beaten Marshall by 24. But not this time. The Patriots, in one of their best efforts of the season, shocked the Eagles 56-50 in overtime. “I’m proud of the boys – not a bad response to the 24-point beating earlier,” Dailey said. “This is a signature-type win that can propel us to where we have to be. If we continue to grow defensively, it will be a fun year.” MA took an 11-4 lead after one quarter on Taylor Maurey’s drive to the hoop. St. Benedict rallied to lead 24-19 at the half and 31-27 following three periods.
The turning point came as the fourth quarter started. The Eagles’ coach was whistled for two technical fouls and ejected from the game. Jordan Brock calmly cashed in all four free throws and knotted the game at 31. MA went up 41-36 at the 3:08 mark on Wyke’s three. But St. Benedict didn’t die. The Eagles went up 43-41 with 1:29 left. Another Wyke three and Brock’s steal and short shot put the Pats on top 46-43 within the last minute. Then the Eagles hit a three with 11 ticks remaining to send the game to OT. MA took the lead in the extra period on another Wyke three. In the final 45 seconds, John Tomlinson and Wyke hit crucial free throws to nail down the six-point victory. Wyke scored 21, including five threes, for the Patriots (12-5 on the season). Brock and Ferrell added 10 each. Maurey scored eight. The Marshall boys struggled but downed Falkner 66-61 Saturday in the Premiere Shoot-Out at North Pontotoc High School. “This was a good win in a tough setting,” Coach Dailey said. The Pats, who led by 18-13 after one quarter, went up by seven in the second period on Byrd’s three, but they couldn’t pull away from a pesky group of Eagles. MA was on top 32-30 at the half. Marshall actually fell behind by as many as three in the third but went up 55-47 at the end of the period on Maurey’s drive and basket. It got tight again in the fourth. Falkner had snatched a 60-59 lead with 3:22 left. Wyke hit a jump shot, and Maurey and Byrd nailed some free throws down the stretch to secure the five-point win. Maurey scored 19, Byrd 14 and Ferrell 11. “I felt this eight-game stretch through Christmas and the first week back would tell us a lot about ourself,” Dailey said about his 13-5 squad. “This was a good start but Myrtle, Magnolia Heights and Hickory Flat to go.” |
     
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