Holly High Hawks, Byers Lions split one-point games

Marshall County rivals met on the basketball court Tuesday night, Nov. 19, with both games decided by one point.

Zayriah Farrow hit one of two free throws with 16 seconds left and the Holly Springs Lady Hawks held on for a 33-32 home win over the H.W. Byers Lady Lions.

The low-scoring contest was tight from the opening tip. Byers led 12-10 after one quarter and 20-16 at the half.

Aryauna Ingram scored seven of her team-best nine points in the third quarter as the Lady Hawks snatched a 2522 advantage.

The Lady Lions battled back to lead 26-25 with 6:17 left in the fourth. Holly High’s Teyuana Reaves tallied four of her eight points down the stretch, and then Farrow broke the 32-32 tie in the closing seconds.

Top scorers for Byers were Madisyn Euell with 11 and Jaylynn Rubbin with nine.

In the second match-up of the night, Brandon Paige drilled a three-pointer from the corner with less than 10 seconds remaining and the Lions left with a 43-42 win.

This one, too, was low-scoring and close throughout. Byers grabbed the momentum early and led 9-3 following one quarter. Holly Springs cut the deficit to 18-17 at halftime.

Byers was up by two at the end of the third but fell behind by two, 42-40, with 1:13 remaining in the game. After Paige hit the clutch shot late to put the Lions on top by one, the Hawks had a chance to pull it out. They created a Byers turnover off an in-bounds pass but couldn’t convert it into points with two seconds left.

Leading the way for the Lions were Marion Fitzpatrick with 14 points, Corey Willis with 13 and Tyler Harris with nine. Byers hit eight threes in the win.

Top scorers for Holly Springs were Jason Jeffries with 12 and Joseph Petty with 11.