Polk County Sports

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Tony Cooper drives for the layup.By Brian Besch

Corrigan-Camden is rolling again in 2023, picking up wins versus quality opponents and facing some of the best in larger classifications. Tuesday, they were winners over Hemphill 82-49 in northern Polk County.

In just the second year under Coach Greg Devers, Corrigan looks to be tough to stop once more. Winners of District 24-2A last season, they are strong favorites to repeat.

The ‘Dogs handled the ball better, outran the Hornets, and were able to apply enough pressure on the press to convert easy buckets. The lead was double digits after a quarter, and 18 at the half. Finishing strong, they scored 25 points in the fourth.

“I didn’t know how this game was going to be. We had a weekend where we played a bunch of games and our legs are kind of tired,” Devers said. “We had an easy workout yesterday. Hemphill decided to get into a running game with us, too. We scored 82 points, but I think we should have put more on the board. We missed a lot of layups and a lot of open threes. I think five of our last six games, we hit double digits in threes, and I don’t even think we got close tonight. But, we got after it.”

The team was a little closer than the coach thought, with nine shots made from behind the arc. Five of those came in the fourth quarter. Talan Gulley led with 20 points, Tony Cooper had 19, and Brodgrick Price 18. By comparison, Hemphill’s high scorer had a dozen.

“I am down to about eight players after I moved one down,” the coach said. “I think we can go with an eight-man rotation. I think our main thing is we’ve got to get our legs under us and we’ve also got to get in shape to play 32 minutes, because we can’t sit down and play a half-court defense.”

Last weekend in bracket play, Corrigan-Camden defeated Claiborne Academy (from Louisiana), as well as tournament host Gary. They were then defeated by Martin’s Mill, the No. 1 team in Class 2A. They came back in the final game with a come-from-behind victory over Chireno.

“We still have a big one Friday against the No. 9-ranked team in 3A Kountze over in the Lion’s Den,” Devers said. “If we thought this was running up and down the court, it is really going to be running on Friday.”

The Bulldogs are not shying away from competition, as next week they host Class 2A No. 8 Evadale, play a ranked 3A in Orangefield, and a ranked 4A team in Tyler Chapel Hill in the Houston County tournament.

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By Brian Besch
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Polk County hosted two basketball tournaments over the weekend, with champions still to be decided after press time. The Big Sandy and Goodrich tournaments are fixtures for the first weekend in December and packed with plenty of hoop action.

ONALASKA BOYS

Onalaska got off to an 11-0 start versus Splendora in the morning game of the Big Sandy tournament. That was extended to a 30-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. Johnny Byrd had 16 points in the opening period and the Wildcats by the lake would cruise to an 89-70 win. Johnny Byrd finished with 18, Bryan Wyatt led with 20, Ryder Humbird-Smith had 17 and Patrick Roth had 11.

“We’ve always had good first quarters – not quite that good – but whenever you are putting up 30 in a quarter, that is good pacing,” Onalaska coach Nick Tyerman said. “We just have to do a better job on defense. For some reason, the second quarter keeps being our Achilles heel. We let other teams get hot and we’re not scoring as much. We’ve got to fix that. Sometimes, I think that maybe I’m getting myself into a bind of leaving the first group of five in a little too long and maybe they are a little too tired in the second quarter. I’ve got to do a little better substituting so we can keep our tempo and pace up.”

Friday began with Orangefield, and the Wildcats were down after the first quarter 27-17. The Bobcats’ were able to hang on after the quick start for a 74-61 win over Onalaska. However, the Wildcats did close the margin to a single possession in the second half. Wyatt scored 15 and Byrd had 14.

“A lot of that stuff is on me,” Tyerman said. “We have to prepare better. I was extremely proud of the boys because we got back, and at one point, we were within three. The kids that normally knock down free throws missed some free throws that would have made it a tie game or even a lead. A lot of teams with high school kids, it is tough if you come out and struggle early to rebound after that. They showed real resiliency and I am proud of that.” 

BIG SANDY GIRLS

It took until the final minute of the first quarter to break a scoreless tie, but once they did, Big Sandy was able to secure a Thursday morning win. After a 2-2 opening period, Big Sandy trailed West Orange-Stark at the half by one. However, a 30-point second half, while holding the Lady Mustangs to six points would be more than enough for the 41-18 victory. Savanna Poncho led with 15 points, Briana Miles had seven and Faith Geller six.

“Both teams struggled to score in the first half really,” Lady Cat coach Ryan Alec said. “We really haven’t been in that situation all year long, so it was good for us to kind of experience that. In the second half, we made some adjustments. I thought we were pretty stagnant as far as driving the ball and we were standing around too much on the outside. We did shoot the three quite a bit, but for us to get open against an athletic team like that, we talked about driving more to the basket and attacking gaps more, spreading the floor out a little more. We use a lot of base line stuff and we’re trying to work on base line attacking. That freed up some shooters. Luckily, we knocked down some shots. Defensively, I thought we did a pretty good job. They were big and we were overmatched defensively, as far as athleticism and size. We emphasize a lot on blocking out and rebounding.”

Woden proved to be a bigger challenge on Friday, as the Lady Eagles took a 36-32 win. The margin was just two near the end, but the Lady Cats could not get attempts to fall. Poncho again was the leading scorer with 15 points.

“I thought we played a great defensive game and their defense was pretty good,” Alec said. “They are not overly athletic like some of the teams that we have played in the past two days, but they are very well coached and they get out and play hard and get after you defensively. We missed some opportunities and throughout the course of the game we made some mistakes. We had our chances, but came up short against a good team.”

BIG SANDY BOYS

By the time Warren put points on the board Thursday, there was 5:14 remaining in the second quarter and Big Sandy held a 25-point advantage. The Warriors were also shut out in the fourth period. Big Sandy would go on to claim a 67-11 victory. Tavian Battise had 17 points, Zane Alec had 15 and Jamesley Flowers 11.

“I thought our defense was really good,” Big Sandy coach Kevin Foster said. “We made everything very difficult for them when they tried to get a shot off. Not only that, but we finished our possession with good rebounds. Offensively, I would like for us to be a little more crisp with the ball and the movement of the ball. I thought we were a little stagnant at times, but overall, it is a good win and they will all get tougher from here on out. It is a good way to start the tournament.”

A Friday win was taken over Woden 53-29, led by the Wildcat defense. The Eagles’ 15-9 first-quarter advantage was short lived. Woden had trouble finding the bucket, as Big Sandy clamped down to allow seven in the second quarter, then seven through the second half. Javen Criswell hit six three-pointers and had 21 points, while Nick Ortiz had five from long range and 17.

“We start off slow, and early on, I thought our defense wasn’t good,” Foster said. “They were knocking down shots and scored 15 in the first quarter. Our defense really tightened up after that. I thought their defensive intensity was good and we weren’t crisp with our execution. I think once we settled in we were OK. It was one of those games where it takes you awhile to get going. Javen is really good and he can play different positions, so it is hard to prepare for him.”

GOODRICH GIRLS

The Lady Hornets won their Thursday game to enter the winner’s bracket, a 38-33 triumph over Colmesneil. Down five at the half, Goodrich utilized a strong third-quarter performance of 16 points to take the lead for good. Latrina Morgan had 15 and Tanyreauna Criswell had nine.

“There was no defense and we were always in a rush to shoot the ball,” Lady Hornet coach Pinellafie Johnson said. “We dribble too much with our head down. As soon as we catch the ball, we have to look and we are having a poor time taking care of that. If we don’t play some defense, we let one girl just drive around us. That’s not defense. I tell them all the time that this game is played with their feet and we really have to work on that. We got the job done and it was nice to get the win, but still, going into district, that is not going to cut it for us.”

On Friday, opportunities were there at the end of the game, but Richards escaped with a 44-41 win. A poor first half had the Lady Hornets playing catch up the rest of the way. Down nine points at the half, they closed the gap to two by the end of the third. Morgan led all scores with 24 points.

“It was so simple – defense – just guard a girl. We turn our back and just leave someone open. I don’t know who we think we are guarding with someone behind us,” Johnson said shaking her head. “Offensively, we are still rushing everything. Until they learn to move their feet and play defense, it’s just not going to work. We missed enough free throws to win the game. We have to learn to connect when we get that opportunity.”

GOODRICH BOYS

Goodrich claimed their first win of the season in four tries versus Shepherd JV 60-41 Thursday. Outsized, the Hornets were still able to rebound with the larger Pirates for a three-point lead at the end of the third period. An 18-2 fourth quarter with a full-court press decided it. A’Mareion Bookman had 22 points and freshman Marquis Robinson had 10.

“That is our first win and we decided to play a little defense,” Goodrich coach Lester King said. “We got a little lead and then we thought it was time to just score and stop playing defense. When we started playing defense, we got ourselves back in the ball game. If we would have kept playing defense, we would have pulled away. We aren’t perfect, but we got better.”

The Hornets again turned it on late Friday versus Richards, but fell a bit short at 40-38. Down double digits in the third, Goodrich made a furious comeback that fell just short in the final minute. Bookman again led the team in points.

“We were just dumb on defense and acted like we didn’t know who to guard, when to guard, or where to guard,” King said. “The pressure got to us and we came back really good, but we let it get too far behind. When we threw the ball away, they went and scored. We look better and we are going to keep getting better, because next week we have three good days of practice and go to a tournament. It was a good game.”

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Michael Kenney flies past a defender for the bucket.

By Brian Besch
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In a battle of Bulldogs, Corrigan-Camden was able to secure an 88-74 victory over New Waverly Tuesday night on the north side of Polk County.

Coach Greg Devers’ running and gunning group pressed and hit long range jumpers to win their third game in as many tries. Victories over Wells and Garrison had margins of just under 40 each, making New Waverly the toughest challenge to date.

New Waverly held a 22-17 lead after the first quarter, but Corrigan would explode for 27 points in the second to go up 44-37 at the half.

“We are still kind of jelling right now,” Devers said. “This is just our third game. We had 10 players last year and I have five that came back. I am trying to get them into a rotation, because I don’t think we are in shape right now, even though we scored 88. We gave up 74, but New Waverly attacked with the ball inside and they had the height advantage tonight. We had some key players come back, but my bench is inexperienced right now. My big boys have got to start picking it up inside.”

As with most teams that utilize the press, many of Corrigan’s points came off turnovers. However, there are plenty of shooters that were on display in Tuesday’s win. A total of 16 3-pointers were made, with all coming from Tony Cooper, Brodgrick Price, Talan Gulley and Michael Kenney.

“I don’t know how many threes we hit, but we hit a bunch,” Devers said. “We are shooting the ball well. In the first two games, we shot over 33% from the 3-point line and we’ve taken a lot. Once the press gets together, I think we are going to be pretty good. I think we are better shooters this year than we were last year. I’ve got a couple of kids that aren’t hitting right now. Tony has been averaging 35.5 (points) a game.”

Just as they did in the first half, Corgan hit 8 3-pointers in the second. They were outscored in the third quarter by a point, but pulled away from a tired New Waverly team in the final period.

Cooper led all scores with 29 points. The total allowed the senior to surpass 1,000 points in his time as a Bulldog. Kenney had 25 points, Price scored 16, and Gulley had 15. For New Waverly, Brayden Stevenson had 20 points, Alec Ripkowski 19, Zane Sykes 13 and Randell Lewis 11.

“We’ve got some big games coming up and we’ve got a tough schedule,” the coach said. “We’ve got Kountze, Tatum and Evadale. Then, I’ve got the Houston County tournament where there is two more ranked teams. We will play a tougher schedule, but hopefully that will prepare us for the playoffs.”

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Bryan Wyatt leaps for the blocked shot. Photo by Brian Besch

By Brian Besch
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Two of Polk County’s better basketball teams played a final game before the Thanksgiving holidays, with Big Sandy topping Onalaska 56-46 Tuesday in Dallardsville.

The game of Wildcats was closer than the final tally would indicate, and Onalaska got the better of the home team for much of the first half. The team by the lake took several five- and seven-point leads, only for Big Sandy to respond each time.
A run near the end of the first half put Big Sandy in front by two at the break.

“It is just bad execution,” Onalaska coach Nick Tyerman said following the contest. “I’ve got to do a better job in practice to make things habits. Obviously, I haven’t done a good enough job if we’re not doing it every single time on the floor. It really comes down to our defense. It is stuff that we drill. We are supposed to be rotating early to get more steals and anticipating. We are getting complacent and trying to take breaks and rests on defense, and we can’t do that. We have to be able to rotate and keep the intensity up all the time.”

The purple ‘Cats outscored Onalaska by four in each of the final two quarters. Roles reversed, as Big Sandy created several leads in the third and fourth quarters, only for Onalaska to rally until the final minutes.

Javen Criswell led Big Sandy and the game with 24 points, Nick Ortiz had 19, Shuday Beene-Williams had seven and Jamesley Flowers six. Lucas Jackson was the top Onalaska scorer with 16, Wyatt Reyes had 10, and Bryan Wyatt eight.

“There were a lot of silly turnovers, and we have to take care of the ball,” Tyerman said. “Sometimes that happens where kids get too comfortable, but they have to realize that nothing is easy in this game. We play a tough schedule for a reason. (Big Sandy) did a good job on defense, taking away a lot of stuff that we like to do. It made it tough for our shooters to get their shots off. That is stuff that we have to work on, and we have to be more comfortable shooting under pressure and just taking care of it that way.”

Tyerman said his Wildcats performed well at the beginning of a contest last week versus a ranked Orangefield team. A tough second quarter had the team behind, and more from which they could recover. They will receive a rematch next week, as both participate in the Big Sandy tournament. There was a better result Monday hosting Splendora. The team did not shoot well, but defensive intensity, Tyerman said, was the difference in obtaining a three-point victory over the larger school.

Big Sandy lost four of its top six players off last season’s group that went three rounds into the postseason. They have two starters and two more lettermen that have returned.

“It was everything that I expected it to be. It was a tough game that could have gone either way,” Big Sandy coach Kevin Foster said of the Onalaska contest. “We kind of made some plays down the stretch when we needed to and that is what those games come down to. We have been on the losing side of plenty of those ourselves. I was real proud of the kids and, obviously, we have a lot of new guys this year. We are trying to piece things together and have a lot of work to do still. We beat a good team today and it gives us a little confidence, knowing we are capable of doing that. I look for Onalaska to have a really great year, and Coach Tyerman has done a really good job with them. We struggled a lot early, because they were doing some things to us that took a while to adjust. We were able to take the lead going into the half and I thought that was big. It was a much closer game than what the scoreboard said.”

The Wildcats are 3-1 currently, with the lone loss to Class 4A Bridge City by five on Monday.

“(Monday), we were on the losing end of one of those close ones,” Foster said. “(Bridge City is) very big and very physical. We always schedule up and play up, and I was a little nervous about our schedule with the inexperience we have. We have East Chambers on the Tuesday that we come back (from Thanksgiving). Then, we have our tournament coming up. We’re not going to shy away; that is how we get better. I told the kids that we are not worried about what our record is going into district, we just want to be prepared.”