HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Mayflower 78, Lamar 55 Ethan Kendall (right) of Lamar and Mayflower’s B.J. Gilliam battle for a loose ball during Friday night’s 3A-5 Conference boys game at Mayflower.
MAYFLOWER — When Lamar and Mayflower met Jan. 8, the Warriors made their fair share of tide-turning plays in the fourth quarter to pull out a victory.
On Friday night, the Eagles were the ones making the right moves.
Mayflower opened up a 12-point, first-quarter lead and never let up in beating Lamar 78-55 at Eagle Gymnasium.
Junior guard B.J. Gilliam scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as Mayflower (13-1, 8-1 3A-5), ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, exacted a measure of revenge against the Warriors.
“It was certainly a mustwin game for us, especially after they beat us at their place the first time,” said Mayflower Coach Brent Stalling, whose team lost at Lamar 67-62. “They’re the only team that’s beaten us this year, so we really wanted this one. And I thought we played well.
“I wasn’t all that happy with our defensive effort in the first half, but offensively, we did a really good job.”
The Eagles moved a game ahead of Lamar in the standings and also kept pace with Baptist Prep (15-3, 9-1), which is a half-game ahead of Mayflower after its blowout victory over Atkins on Friday.
Senior forward Westin Pickell finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and senior center Braxtyn McCuien had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals for the Eagles, who went 30 of 52 (57.6%) from the field and committed just 8 turnovers. Sophomore guard Kaleb Moody added 13 points.
Seniors Ethan Kendall and Jerron Massengale scored 23 and 14 points, respectively, for Lamar (11-4, 7-2). The Warriors shot just 16 of 46 (34.7%) for the game.
A three-pointer from Kendall gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead 28 seconds into the game, but a steal and lay-up from
Moody started a 14-3 run for the Eagles.
Both Pickell and McCuien battled foul trouble in the earlier meeting with Lamar, but the two took turns tormenting the Warriors over the first two quarters this time. McCuien had 10 points in the first eight minutes while Pickell scored seven over the final six minutes of the second period. They combined for 25 points in the half to help Mayflower run out to a 45-35 lead at the break.
“Those two had to sit the whole second quarter in that first game against [Lamar],” Stallings said. “We got down and tried to come back, but we just didn’t have enough. In this one, they really came out ready and helped us get off to that good start.”
Gilliam began to take over in the third quarter. He scored 12 of the team’s 22 points, including eight during a five-minute span that saw the Eagles’ lead balloon to 21. He later had a basket just before the buzzer to put Mayflower ahead 67-50. He then scored his team’s first five points of the fourth quarter as Mayflower used a 9-2 surge to pull away.
“We’ve still got to try to get better every game from here on out,” Stalling said. “With covid and everything, you can’t take anything for granted. We’ve got some tough games next week that will be challenging so we’ve got to continue to stay focused.
“Of course, we’ve got Baptist in the very last game of the year in a make-up game. So we’ve still got a lot of work to do before then.”