Class 2A basketball roundup
Stellar 3-point shooting and pressure defense were crucial to the Bulldogs' victory. Piedmont (16-14) was good on 13 of 27 3-pointers while the Warriors hit 7 of 26. Senior Kyle Glover and junior Marquise Diamond led Piedmont's assault behind the arc. Both were 5 of 9 from long range. Seniors A.J. Young, D'Eric Jackson and Derek McElroy had Piedmont's other 3-pointers. The game was tied 34-34 at halftime. Three minutes into the third quarter, James Lee Abner hit a 3-pointer to give Westbrook (19-9) its first lead of the second half. Diamond answered immediately with a trey then Abner hit another. "In the past, we've lost when people made a run at us," Piedmont coach Tommy Lewis said. That was in the past. Last night, Young's 3-ball restored the lead to Piedmont for good at 44-42 with four minutes left in the third. Diamond hit another trey after a steal by Chase Taylor. On the ensuing possession, Young stole the ball and fed Diamond for his third 3-pointer in a span of less than two minutes. Another trey, this one by Glover, closed the third quarter scoring. Lewis said that contrary to popular belief, there are some limits on the distance from which his shooters can launch shots. Those restrictions are tempered by his last bit of shooting advice, "When you get hot, take the one that's too far out." Westbrook cut Piedmont's lead to 64-62 with four minutes to play. D'Eric Jackson outscored the Warriors 6-3 over the next three minutes and the Bulldogs led 70-65 with 30 seconds to play. "I felt like he was the deciding factor at the end," Lewis said. Glover and McElroy both made a pair of free throws for Piedmont's final points. Diamond ended with 19 points to pace Piedmont. Glover scored 18 and Jackson 13. McElroy finished with nine points while Young and Taylor both had six. The Bulldogs stayed with the taller Warriors on the boards, losing the rebounding battle only 43-42. Jackson and Diamond had seven rebounds each. Talyor had six and Glover five. Both McElroy and Jackson had four assists. Taylor and Glover each recorded three steals. Abner and David Ryan led Westbrook with 25 and 18 points respectively. Abner was 3 of 6 from outside the arc and Ryan was 3 of 7. The rest of the Warriors were 1 of 13 combined. The Bulldogs had 15 steals to four for Westbrook. — Rip Donovan W. Plains 50, Ranburne 47 White Plains made enough plays in the fourth quarter to edge Ranburne.
Hours after the team learned of team co-captain Bradey Munroe's death after his long bout with cancer, the Wildcats (25-5) avenged last year's 60-48 loss to Ranburne in the same round. An emotional crowd witnessed a physical defensive struggle in which neither team was able to gain a substantial lead. "When you play Ranburne, you better bring your big-boy pants," White Plains coach Chris Randall said. "They play really physically, but we kept guarding, and we contested enough shots to be able to win." Will Daniel was Ranburne's lone returning starter from a year ago, but the Bulldogs still proved a tough task for White Plains. "(Playing physically) is like second nature for us," Daniel said. "We were more of a defensive team this year, and we actually played them better defensively this year." Ranburne did not take the lead until the final minute of the third quarter, when they scored the last 10 points to take a 34-32 lead into the final period. The Bulldogs increased that lead to as many as six, but the Wildcats banded together and made enough plays to emerge victorious. Josh Mickler scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and substitute Tyler Black scored all seven of his points in the final period. White Plains center Mikey Kline dealt with foul trouble for much of the game, which Randall said was concerning. "With Mikey in foul trouble, they were bigger at every position, but we still held our own in the rebounding," he said. The Wildcats were out-rebounded 39-32, but Randall was pleased with that effort after Ranburne dominated that aspect of the game a year ago. After Mickler missed two free throws with seven seconds remaining, Daniel — who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds — had to force a 3-pointer as time expired. The shot was contested and fell well short. — Jered Staubs
Woodland sophomore Courtney Strain scored 38 points and pulled down nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough for the Lady Bobcats as they fell to Ider.. Strain, who led the nation in scoring at better than 40 points per game going into the contest according to Maxpreps.com, shot 15-for-38 from the field. She was pestered all night by double- and sometimes triple-teams as Ider subbed fresh bodies in and out to throw at her. Meanwhile, Ider (21-9) got double-digit points from four different players. Hilary Phillips and Lacey Hancock had 16 apiece in a game in which the Hornets led after every quarter. Kayla Beaty added 13 and Taylor Hawkins scored 10 in the win for Ider. Woodland finished its season at 22-9. — Nick Birdsong
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