Cards win two of three
It was life on the road for Potts Camp basketball teams last week.
They split with Myrtle and M.S. Palmer, both Region 2-2A opponents, and also Smithville, a non-district foe.
Potts Camp-Myrtle
The Cardinals turned it up a notch in the third quarter and left Union County Tuesday, Jan. 18, with a 69-49 win over Myrtle.
They held a slim 28-24 lead at the halfway point and then came out in the third on fire, outscoring the Hawks 23-11 and tucking the victory away.
Josh Blake was the top gun on offense. He scored 20 points, with 10 of those coming in the third.
He was the only Cardinal scoring in double digits. Ten other players reached the scoring column.
The Lady Cardinals, playing without their top two scorers, lost to Myrtle 64-27.
Both Malasha Faulkner and Raykiah Stricklen missed the game due to sickness.
Potts Camp fell behind 3612 at halftime.
Jakeidra Lesure scored eight for the Lady Cards.
Potts Camp-Palmer
Stricklen was back in full force for Potts Camp Friday night as she led her team to a 43-40 win at M.S. Palmer.
She scored a game-high 23 points. Eight of those came in the first quarter as the Lady Cardinals raced to a 14-3 advantage.
The lead was sliced to 18-17 at halftime and then increased to 33-26 at the end of three periods.
Potts Camp hung on in the fourth, with Stricklen going three of four from the freethrow stripe and also drilling a big three.
The Potts Camp boys were on the short end of a 63-43 score versus the Dragons.
The two squads were tied at 14 after one quarter. Blake scored 12 of his 16 points in the first eight minutes.
The second period didn’t go as well for the Cards. They were outscored 23-8 and fell behind 37-22 at the half. The host Dragons kept on clicking in the second half and won by 20.
Jamie Muse added 11 points for Potts Camp.
Potts Camp-Smithville
The Potts Camp boys erupted in the second quarter and went on to dominate Smithville 74-56 Saturday on a trip to Monroe County.
Holding a narrow 18-16 lead after one period, the Cards got the offense in gear and outscored Smithville 24-7 in the second quarter. They went on cruise control in the second half after leading 42-23 at the break.
Top point producers were Blake with 25, and 19 of those coming in the second and third quarters, Martwion Walker with 15, and Quntavier Jones and Muse with 12 each.
The Cards were just 22 of 48 from the free-throw line in the win.
The Potts Camp girls got 19 points from Stricklen but it wasn’t enough as they lost to the Lady Seminoles 57-43.
Stricklen hit four threes, two in the first quarter and two more in the fourth.
The Lady Cards were down 34-22 at the break and pulled within six to start the fourth. Smithville hit some key free throws in the fourth and won by 14.
Orlandria Smith scored a game-high 24 for Smithville.
The Cardinals (11-10 overall and 4-1 in the district) and Lady Cardinals (10-8 overall and 4-1 in the district) hosted Palmer on Monday night of this week and visited Hamilton on Tuesday. They will travel to Charleston Friday and then go to Strayhorn next Tuesday, Feb. 1.