Grapeland Thumps Westwood, 73-49
Sandies Now 13-0
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
WESTWOOD – On the Friday before Christmas break, the Grapeland Sandies put their unblemished 12-0 record on the line as they traveled to Westwood to take on the Panthers.
Westwood hung with Grapeland in the first quarter, but an offensive meltdown in the second period of play did in the Panthers as the Sandies pulled away to win by a final score of 73-49.
As the game got underway, Keizion Ashford was on fire as he dropped in eight points for the Sandies. BJ Lamb added five while Austin Driskell and Cadarian Wiley had two apiece.
The Panthers spread the points around as five players scored for Westwood in the first eight minutes of play. Mario Black paced the Panthers with five while Brody McClelland dropped in a three. JaCory Furr and Bri’Darian Hunt had two apiece and JJ Herndon made one of two as Grapeland led 17-13 after the first quarter.
As well as Westwood distributed the ball in the first period, it was somewhat surprising to see the wheels come off of the offense as Hunt scored the only two points for the Panthers in the quarter.
While Westwood struggled, the Sandies kept on rolling as they pushed their lead to double digits at 32-15 before halftime. Wiley dropped in six while Lamb had four in the second. Deco Bryant dropped in a shot from behind the arc and Lekerian Smith had two to close out the first half scoring.
Following the break, the Panthers offense was much improved as Black came out of the locker room on fire with 19 points. Unfortunately, aside from two points from Jasen Hollingsworth, no one else scored for Westwood.
The Sandies kept pace after halftime as Lamb knocked down eight points while Wiley had four. Bryant and Driskell both connected from behind the arc while three other Sandies – Ashford, Riley Murchison and Dameion Smith – all had two as Grapeland led 56-36 after three periods of play.
The Sandies put the game away in the fourth quarter as they kept up a torrid tempo. Bryant had a pair of threes to go along with a two while Jonathan Luce put in four. Driskell knocked down a three and Lamb added a basket as Grapeland pulled away to win, 73-49.
The Panthers were led in scoring by Mario Black with a game-high 28 points. Brody McClelland added six while JaCory Furr and Bri’Darian Hunt both had four. JJ Herndon added three while TJ Hicks and Jasen Hollingsworth both had two.
The Sandies were led by four players in double figures. BJ Lamb led the way with 19 while Deco Bryant netted 14. Both Keizion Ashford and Cadarian Wiley had 12 while Austin Driskell added eight. Jonathan Luce had four while Riley Murchison and Dameion Smith chipped in two apiece to close out the Grapeland scoring.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
