Polk County Sports

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Bryan Wyatt bends around the defense to get a shot up.

By Brian Besch
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Onalaska basketball is tied for first place and showed off many reasons why in a 101-60 win over the Bulldogs from New Waverly Friday.

A hot start on offense and New Waverly’s inability to control the basketball led to a 12-2 start for the home team. The Wildcats gave up a lot in size, but made up for it with hustle, shooting and positioning on rebounds.

Johnny Byrd caught fire as the second quarter started, hitting three 3-pointers in just over a minute of clock. By halftime, the senior shooter had connected six times from behind the arc.

The Wildcats are now 4-1 and tied for best in district. Going into the night, four teams shared a 3-1 record, which included Shepherd, Coldspring and Crockett.

“It is kind of funny, because everybody has beaten someone different,” Wildcat coach Nicholas Tyerman said. “It is really a true tie, so tonight helps keep us in control of our own destiny. I am very proud of the kids and the effort. We are still trying to fix some of our defensive errors, but we are getting there.”

The ‘Cats have defeated Tarkington, Trinity, Shepherd and New Waverly in league play. The lone loss was to Crockett, a 35-point difference. Tyerman said it was a 10-point game late in the third quarter.

“We were playing our tempo and they like playing that way too,” he said of the Crockett match. “It was literally just a two-minute spurt where we missed every shot we took, and they made every shot they took. It went from being down 10 to being down 25. It happens with the way our style of play is.

“We are in a good spot and need to take care of business in Anderson on Tuesday, weather permitting. On Friday, we have Coldspring at home, which will be big. It could very likely be one of those tiebreak games that we need to control first.”

The team is able to cycle in five players at a time once fatigue sets in on the court. It is perhaps the deepest squad in the district, and the coach uses the entire bench to the team’s advantage.

“I feel we are doing really well and I’ve got 12 kids that I can play at any moment,” Tyerman said. “I don’t have to worry about foul trouble. You are going to have good players that just have bad games and other guys have to step up. I have 12 kids where I know anybody can step up at any moment. I had a sophomore that scored 18 tonight. That is great depth to have and we are going to keep doing that and keep improving.”

Brayden Topkins led the team with 19 points, Patrick Roth and Johnny Byrd had 18 each, and Bryan Wyatt 11. For New Waverly, Rondell Lewis had 19, Alec Ripkowski had nine, and Dillon Thomas and Houston Forester each scored eight.

Tyerman said his teams on the lower levels are also turning in quality performances.

“My J.V. is undefeated right now. My junior high just won a game by 46 points last night against Tarkington. From seventh through twelfth grade, we have a true program and we are in that cycle phase right now, where it is on an upswing and we’re going to keep rolling with it.”

In the very competitive District 23-3A, there are no nights off or easy wins, but a few stand out as difficult challenges.

“Crockett is obviously going to be the biggest one because we lost to them in that first round. Coldspring is going to be that next one and it’s going to be one of our toughest tests. We have more depth and more scoring options, so it is just going to be about ball security and being able to limit their main guys.”

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J.T. Randolph lifts the shot over a leaping Longhorn

By Brian Besch
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Lion basketball fans that left at halftime of Tuesday’s district contest with state-ranked Hamshire-Fannett likely did so with a smile. The second half, however, was not as kind, as the Longhorns came from behind to win 62-46.

The Lions employed a 2-3 zone defense after the tip that kept Hamshire-Fannett out of the paint. The Longhorns settled for longer attempts, mostly from behind the arc. Hamshire set up a half-court trap that gave the Lions trouble and created turnovers.

Many of the points scored in the first half were off fast breaks, but there weren’t a lot. The result was a low-scoring two quarters. Livingston held multiple six-point leads and had the same going into the locker room, up 23-17.

The zone defense was a wrinkle the coaching staff planned specifically for Tuesday’s contest.

“He was expecting a man (defense), because every time we play them, we play man,” Livingston coach Frederic Camp said. “I knew they would (expect the man defense). We started out at the first of the year playing zone, then we started letting too many people get shots off.”

A 12-2 run to start the third quarter had the Longhorns back in front for good. Hamshire-Fannett picked up the pace in the second half and did a better job attacking the zone, getting to the bucket. Livingston got careless with a basketball in transition and the ‘Horns capitalized with a big third quarter, reminding all in the gym why they are ranked No. 13 in the state. The 22 Longhorn points in the third were five more than they scored in the first half. Meanwhile, the Lions were held to eight and needed something drastic in the final period.

“We told them to not let them start shooting the three, because they are going to start hitting it,” Camp said of the halftime conversation. “We stood there and we watched them until they hit about three or four of them. Just give them a contest, don’t just stand there and look at them. We were taking charges all week long (in practice). We knew that they were going to drive to the bucket and all we had to do was step over there and take the charge. We would either jump and foul them or step to the side and watch them lay it up. You can’t win like that.
“When the shot goes up, we have to find a different-colored jersey and get them on our back and block them out. I told them that these are guys that went to (track and field) regionals in high jumping. You are not going to outjump them, because they are jumping 6’5” and 6’6”. When they shoot, you have to put them on your back.”

Livingston went back to a man defense in the fourth quarter and the results were no better. The visitors continued their hot shooting in the half and would collect 25 more to close it.

Ziekus Garner led the Lions with a dozen points, Tyrell Fagan had 10, and Tearance Gray seven. For Hamshire, Jackson Seastrunk led all scores with 22, while Xavier Leger added 17, and Jeremiah Smith and Chance Ramsey had 10 each.

Camp said the last few weeks have been rough. After opening district play at home with a win versus Liberty, Livingston took consecutive losses to Splendora and Huffman Hargrave. The latest setback has them at 1-3 in a very competitive District 20-4A. After a Friday off, Livingston will load up the bus for a trip to Hardin-Jefferson on Tuesday.

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Brianaly Resendez is alone for the layup.

By Brian Besch
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Lady Hornet basketball led from the game’s first bucket until the final buzzer Friday in Dudley Dickens Gym, taking down rival Leggett 56-36.

An 11-0 start to the first quarter gave the Lady Hornets a lead that they would not surrender.

Leggett could not find the bottom of the bucket until 7:27 in the second quarter, when Bianca Perkins hit a couple of free throws. It stopped a Goodrich scoring streak of 13 unanswered points.

Coach Pinellafie Johnson was not impressed with her team’s defensive effort, but the Lady Hornet half-court trap would cause several turnovers that led to points.

“We played a 1-3-1, we played our press, we ran our 2-3, and we couldn’t even run a man. We were just out there,” Johnson said. “It just so happened that they played a little bit less than what we did. It wasn’t that we did anything spectacular. At one point, we all just started trading baskets. That is no indication of playing defense. I just told them that we have to buckle down and play defense. We know how to do it, now it is just a matter of doing it on the court.”

Goodrich outscored Leggett in each quarter, but it was the first-quarter blanking that caused most of Leggett’s damage. The largest difference in the game was rebounding. The Lady Hornets were buzzing around the boards on both ends of the court, at times, grabbing multiple rebounds in one possession.

“Part of that was that the ball just fell in our hands,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t that we were going to the hoop, because I got on to them about not jumping and going for the ball. I told them that we have to learn once the ball goes up, we have to contest it, turn around and box out, and then go get the rebound. We have to learn to be consistent with defense, because that is what’s going to win the game.”

Latrina Morgan led Goodrich with 24 points, Brianaly Resendez had a dozen and Liseidy Balbuena 10. Johnson had good things to say about the recent play of Resendez and Tanyreauna Criswell.

“She is a hustler,” the coach said of Resendez. “This is nothing compared to what she has done in the past few games. She and (Criswell) hustles too.”

Goodrich is now 2-3 in district, while Leggett is 1-3. All teams in 28-1A will be chasing Brookeland, the heavy favorites.

“Rebounding, hustling and confidence in ourselves,” Leggett coach Terri Barlow said of the game’s shortcomings, “we have to play through being tired. It is a tough one to lose, but Goodrich came ready to play and we weren’t. In that first quarter, we didn’t score anything. If we would just continue to hustle and play four quarters, we would be good.”

Barlow said her squad has had a problem of playing the full 32 minutes all season. Leggett was successful in driving to the hoop for most of the night, but there seemed to be a lid over it in the difficult first quarter.

Bianca Perkins was high point for the Lady Pirates with 18 points, while Tamera Henderson had 13.

“We ran out of gas and didn’t listen,” said Barlow. “Passing the ball out of the press – if you have three people on you, two people are open somewhere. Madyson Burr and Cheyanne Simons stepped up at the end and did some good things. We beat ourselves a lot during the game with the unnecessary turnovers. We would just get the rebound and throw it away. I tell them on the rebounds, five in on the defense and four in on the offense. We had two or three people standing back and watching while two others are trying to rebound. We can’t have that.”

Leggett will travel to Zavalla Tuesday and return to host Brookeland Friday.

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Gavin Nichols is challenged by two Hornets at the rim.

By Brian Besch
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What started as a competitive game quickly became a victorious certainty for the home team, as the Leggett Pirates defeated Goodrich 100-43 Friday in Dudley Dickens Gym.

A tight first period that saw Goodrich share the ball and take good shots turned ugly for the remainder. Leggett turned up the intensity and received many free possessions for the effort. The Pirates were up 11-10 after eight minutes of play, but scored 30, 36 and 23 over the final three quarters for the blowout.

“We still didn’t play like I wanted them to,” Leggett coach Ra’Shod Jefferson said. “We are not pressuring the ball and kind of laid back a little bit. In the first quarter, I think we just came out with a big head. This is our third time playing each other this year. We played each other twice in the Colmesneil tournament. I told them that we have to play our game, and everyone that we play is going to have talent on their team. I told them I would call all my time outs to run sprints if they don’t play ball. We started picking it up a little bit.”

The coach said he liked the teamwork and passing his group showed Friday.

“Usually we have one scoring here or one scoring there. I want all five scoring and using our teammates.”

A large portion of the Leggett scoring came from Jace Railey with 25, Joshua Perkins with 24, and Gavin Nichols 23. Amareion Bookman led the Hornets with 25 points, Marquis Robinson had seven and Joel Resendez six.

Leggett is now 3-0 and will head to Zavalla on Tuesday, then return home for what could be a matchup of the district’s top two teams versus Brookeland in Dickens Gym.

“Brookeland is the challenge; they are 3-0 right now, as well,” Jefferson said.

Goodrich has struggled this season, but is improving. Multiple freshmen are getting their first varsity experience and adjusting to the speed of the game.

“We played a decent quarter and that was it,” Hornet coach Lester King said. “We are standing around. What gets me is that we are not shooting the basketball, we are not rebounding, so it’s not that hard to get back. We talk about that every day, about getting back and playing defense. Then, we’ve got people pouting instead of going in and trying to correct their mistakes. We’ll cure that next week. It’s just terrible when you know you can play with somebody and then all the sudden go to la-la land. Until we start rebounding and playing defense, it’s going to be a long night. I told them that they have to find their pride.”

The Hornets are 0-3 in district with High Island coming to Polk County Tuesday.

“We’re catching the basketball and not looking at the basket. We’re just throwing it away,” King said. “We talk every day about how your first look is at your basket. It is also killing us not having ball handlers like I used to have. Ball handling is killing me. We got to the rim a lot in the first half, but we aren’t scoring.”