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  • Goodrich rides second half play to victory (VIDEO)

    IMG 3640COURTESY PHOTO

    The Goodrich Lady Hornets got a spark in the locker room that vaulted the team to a comfortable 51-24 win Friday over Burkeville.

    The Lady Hornets led 13-10 at the half, but received some “encouragement” to play with increased intensity in the final two frames.

    “I told them that Monday it would be tough,” Khadijah Carter said of the next practice. “I told them mostly just to get the ball inside. They cannot stop us inside and we are more of an inside team than an outside team. We needed to play good defense and that is what we did.”

    The Lady Hornets got to the basket with urgency in the second half, creating points with both its offense and off turnovers. The result was a 22-point third quarter and 16 points in the final period — both more than they collected in all of the first half.

    Latrina Morgan led all scores with 30 points, Breya Passmore had 13 and Aralyn Angel had six. The Lady Mustangs never accumulated more than eight points in a quarter.

    Carter says the season has been a little bit rough for her kids, but believes that her young group has done some growing up over the past few months.

    “This is our second district win,” Carter said. “The first game wasn't by as many (44-35) as we beat them this time. I feel like we have improved even since last game. The competition was a different level.”

    Carter said the team's ability to see inside and find the open player has improved. Though her group rushes at times, the coach likes the pace which the Lady Hornets are beginning to play.

    “We are taking our time moving the ball, finding the holes, getting open and passing it when we need to.”

  • Last-second prayer unanswered (VIDEO)

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    By Brian Besch

    Goodrich had a chance to send Friday's game versus Burkeville into overtime at the buzzer, but fell a bit short in a 49-46 contest. 

    Down by three with nine seconds remaining, Goodrich inbounded the ball. They missed two field goals in the lane before tossing up a last-second heave from behind the arc that bounced off the front of the rim. 

    "It is hard to beat somebody when you can't make free throws," Goodrich coach Lester King said of the team's 8-for-20 performance from the charity stripe. "With all the layups we missed, it is hard. Kids are standing around and they don't realize that you have to rebound." 

    The Hornets led 15-5 after the first period, yet were not on the positive side of any quarter following. 

    The Mustangs had three players score in double digits and only four players that registered a point. The Hornets were led by Joacxi Garzon, who had a game-high of 23 points, Brandon Izaguirre with 10 and Dartavian Nickson with eight. 

    The Hornets have a bye Tuesday and then go to Chester Friday to begin the second half of district play. 

    "We will spend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on the baseline (running)," King said. Making free throws will get you off of it. Otherwise, we will stay there a while. 

    "With the type of ball that we play, we haven't played a team yet this year that has shot more free throws. We are playing man-to-man defense. We've got one senior that we will lose and the rest of them are coming back. We've got some kids in eighth grade that are coming up, so we will be pretty good next year." 

    King is beginning to feel better about his team's chances in district. Goodrich has just one win in 28-1A play, but he feels there is enough parity for every game to be competitive. 

    "That was the last game of the first half. We can go through the second-half and beat everybody almost. That should show it right there.  

    "These kids are trying to do too much on offense, but I want you to break your neck on defense -- not offense. Take your time and wait for a good shot. They will see it on video. We had plenty of opportunities and plenty of good shots. If you get to the rim, you should score. We got the lead a little bit and we got relaxed. We stopped really concentrating on defense. I hope we are learning."

     

  • Leggett basketball in postseason once again (VIDEO)

    IMG 4685BRIAN BESCH | PCE Varian Flournoy fights through traffic to the rim.

    By Brian Besch

    The Leggett Pirates punched their ticket to the playoffs Saturday night with a 78-69 triumph over Burkeville at The Summit in Woodville. 

    The neutral-site game was for the third seed of District 28-1A. 

    Leggett began the contest on a 7-0 run and held a 26-8 lead after the first period.

    However, the Mustangs regrouped, pouring in 24 second-quarter points. The difference was just three at 30-27 with 2:30 in the second quarter.

    Leggett extended that seven at 39-32 at the half and would hold a lead from the first bucket to the final buzzer.

    "We got hot -- real hot -- and everything was good," Leggett coach Sean Edwards said of the first period. "They came back in the second quarter. I liked how we hustled and we played team ball. We grabbed the ball a little more and played with effort and heart."
     

    Edwards said he felt like the team did not play with the same intensity in the second and third quarter.

    "We just let the crowd get to us and everything. We've got to be ready for a playoff atmosphere with Kennard (the next opponent) being tougher."

    Chase Parrish led all scores with 28 points, Varian Flournoy had 21, Josh Perkins had 12 and JaColby Sells had 11.

    The win pushes the Pirates into a Tuesday night bi-district matchup with Kennard, the champions of District 27-1A. 

    "It's been a weird season with Covid and the weather. But, if we just take it day by day and game by game, we can make it to regionals and eventually state," Edwards said. "We just have to take it game by game. There is a tough test that we are going to have with Kennard though, they are pretty good and have a 6-4 guard and a good slasher. They are pretty good and have a good coach over there that just came from Latexo. He knows what he's doing."