Sandies Thump Tigers in District Opener

Grapeland 88 Latexo 24

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – In the second game of a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader in Grapeland, the Sandies and Latexo Tigers squared off in the District 20-2A opener for both teams.

While Grapeland has dropped in the TABC rankings as of late – the Sandies are currently ranked at #18 – they are still a force to be reckoned with as the Tigers found out on Tuesday.

Grapeland opened the game on a 10-4 run, pushed the margin to 23-6 by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The Sandies held Latexo to single digits in every quarter as they pulled away to win the contest by a final score of 88-24.

Omarian Wiley led the charge for Grapeland as the game got underway. Wiley was everywhere it seemed, pulling down six boards and putting up 11 points in the opening eight minutes of play. Riley Murchison was also hot from the field as he added eight while Johnny Lamb and LeLe Smith dropped in two apiece to help the Sandies take a 23-6 lead after one.

Dakota Shirley put in four for the Tigers while Cam Baker chipped in two during the first period.

The second quarter saw Grapeland connecting from long-range as first Murchison – and then Lamb – hit from downtown to push the lead out to 20. With a comfortable lead, Coach Blake Doughty cleared the bench with three minutes left in the half.

The Sandie reserves kept the pressure on the Tigers and extended their lead to 45-12 by the end of the first half. Murchison continued his hot start with another seven points in the second. Lamb added five and Wiley dropped in four more. Zan Anderson drained a three-pointer, Jax Vickers powered his way inside for two and Kionte Willis converted one-of-two from the line to round out the second quarter scoring for the Sandies.

Latexo couldn’t seem to establish any rhythm on offense as the Grapeland D held them to six points in the period, yet again. Shirley netted another four in the quarter while Ashton Hargrove found the scoring column with a basket to close out the Tigers’ first-half point production.

After the break, Grapeland continued to extend its lead and opened up a 41-point advantage with 5:26 left in the third. Once again, Coach Doughty went to his bench, but not before Lamb dropped in eight and Murchison added six.

Anderson converted a four-point play for the Sandies while Trey Davison and Cole Goolsby both hit from downtown. Vickers also got in on the act as he chipped in a bucket to help Grapeland take a 71-20 lead after three periods of play were in the books.

Shirley continued to plug away for the Tigers in the third as he added four more to his total. He was joined in the scoring column by Baker and Matt Cook who both had two in the quarter.

With a 51-point lead, the fourth quarter was a mere formality as the Sandies stayed outside and milked the clock. Murchison added four to his total, while Davison, Lamb and Landon Jackson all connected from behind the arc. Vickers added two and Jason DeCluette also chipped in a bucket as every Grapeland player who suited up scored in the game, helping the Sandies cruise to an easy 88-24 win.

Latexo’s fourth quarter points came from Hargrove, who knocked down a three-pointer, and Shirley who converted one of two from the charity stripe.

On the game, the Tigers were led by Dakota Shirley with a team-high 13 points. Ashton Hargrove went for five, Cam Baker had four and Matt Cook dropped in a bucket to close out the Latexo scoring.

The Sandies were led by three players in double figures. Riley Murchison poured in a game-high 25 points while Johnny Lamb knocked down 18. Omarian Wiley had 15 to go along with a slew of rebounds. Zan Anderson went for seven while both Trey Davison and Jax Vickers scored six apiece. Cole Goolsby and Landon Jackson both hit from three-point land. Jason DeCluette and LeLe Smith had two apiece, while Kionte Willis made one of two from the line to round out the Grapeland point production.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].