Slocum Rips Kennard, 71-49
Pool Play Action in Slocum Tournament
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
SLOCUM – It’s tournament time in the basketball world and a pretty good one is going on over in Slocum.
Competing in the tournament on the boys’ side of things are: Buffalo; Chilton; Eustace; Alto; Marshall, Calif.; Leon; Frankston; Kennard; New Summerfield; Neches; Iola; and Slocum.
For the girls’, there are six teams: Alto; Neches; Jacksonville JV; Slocum; Kennard; and Woden.
In the day one finale, two long-time rivals, the Slocum Mustangs and Kennard Tigers hooked up in much anticipated contest. Unfortunately, the Tigers had sustained a couple of early season injuries and the game turned out to be a blowout as the Mustangs ran past the Tigers, 71-49.
As the game got underway, Slocum opened up a 10-point lead in the first quarter. Josh Ives dropped in a pair of threes from downtown while Colby Thornton added six from the inside. Randy Guess, Travis Neal and Chase Wilson all chipped in two as the Mustangs opened up an 18-8 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
Despite requests, the team roster for Kennard was unavailable. The Tigers’ #11 paced Kennard with four while #23 and #25 both had two.
The second quarter saw the Mustangs extend their lead to 20 before settling for a 35-17 lead at the break.
Ives hit his third three of the game as part of his five in the quarter, while Andrew Abernathy and Zack Bennett broke into the scoring column with three apiece. Guess, Thornton and Wilson all dropped in two apiece to close out Slocum’s first half scoring.
Kennard was led by #22 with four points, while #11 dropped in a three-ball and #25 added two.
The third quarter belonged to Thornton as he torched the Tigers for 14 points. Abernathy hit his second three of the game while Neal and Wilson both had two. Bennett converted one of two from the line to help give the Mustangs a 57-31 lead after three periods of play.
For the Tigers, #15 hit a pair of three-pointers while #22 and #23 both added four.
The fourth quarter saw Slocum slow down the tempo as they racked up 14 points. Abernathy knocked down a pair of threes while Wilson added four. Bennett canned a pair from the charity stripe and Dustin Fletcher added a bucket as the Mustangs closed out the game with a 71-49 victory.
Fourth quarter points for the Tigers came from #15 and #33 who both drained a pair of threes. #22 added four and #23 chipped in two to close out the Kennard scoring.
On the game, the Tigers were led in scoring by #15 and #22 with 12 points apiece. #23 netted eight, #11 dropped in seven and #33 had six. #25 had four points also.
The Mustangs were led by Colby Thornton with a game-high 22 points. Thornton was joined in double figures by Andrew Abernathy with 12 points, while Josh Ives had 11 and Chase Wilson had 10. Zack Bennett dropped in six while Randy Guess and Travis Neal added four apiece. Dustin Fletcher rounded out the Slocum scoring with two.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
