County rivals split games
What could be a very special season for the H.W. Byers boys basketball team began on a high note last week.
The Lions visited Marshall County rival Byhalia and pulled away in the second half for a 66-47 win.
“We were rusty, but I’ll take it,” said coach James Sales, whose team only had three days of practice leading up to the game after the conclusion of the football season. “I think it was a little glimpse of what we’re capable of this season. To go out the first game and play like we did against a 3A school, it’s exciting.”
The 1A Lions return their entire starting lineup from last season, when they came up one win short of the state semi-finals.
“We’re putting all our eggs in the basket,” Sales said. “It’s championship or bust.” At Byhalia Tuesday, Nov. 9, the teams swapped the lead in the opening quarter. RoMontrez Tuggles nailed a three in the first minute to put the Indians on top. The Lions’ Devin Moore had consecutive putback slams to put the visitors up 11-10 with 2:30 to go in the first.
Derrick Beard had a fourpoint play, a three plus a free throw, to give Byhalia a 14-13 advantage, and then Moore dunked again.
Byers was up 15-14 after one period.
Moore’s fourth putback slam put the Lions up by five in the second. They led by as many as eight, but the Indians trimmed the deficit to 3331 at intermission.
Byers took control in the second half. Jabarri Wright’s three from the corner pushed the lead to 10 with 21 seconds remaining in the third.
Early in the fourth, Michael James’ jump short pushed the advantage to 12. Moore dunked again, this time on a fast break, to stretch it to 15, and the Lions went on to win by 19.
“I thought we over-played a lot in the first half,” Sales said. “In the second half, we settled down and executed. We took care of the basketball and built on the lead.”
For Byers, Moore led the way with 19 points. Cedric Watson and James added 15 each. Wright scored 11.
Jamarion Austin was the top gun for coach Derwin Cooper’s Byhalia squad with 13 points. Kanaan DeBerry followed with 11, and Tuggles scored 10. Lady Indians-Lady Lions
Coach Alainey Hughes’ Byhalia girls rode the 33point performance of Jasmine Malone to a 66-23 win over Byers.
Malone scored 30 of her 33 in the first half as the Lady Indians stormed ahead 46-9. She hit three three-point shots in the second quarter.
Mikayla Echols tossed in 17 for Byhalia.
The leading scorer for the Lady Lions was Alaynna Webb with 13, including a pair of threes.
Byers did not compete in varsity girls basketball a year ago, but coach Fred Stafford has a young group of Lady Lions back on the court in 2021-2022.
The Lady Lions (0-1) and Lions (1-0) hosted Holly Springs on Tuesday of this week. They will visit Independence Friday. Next Monday, Nov. 22, they will play in the Byhalia Thanksgiving Shootout.