Clarksville rolls past Big Sandy

MOUNT VERNON, Texas—The Tigers could not be defeated.

Clarksville played solid defense, connected on its shots, and earned a 77-61 victory over Big Sandy in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal game at Tiger Gym on Tuesday.

“We played great defense,” Tiger head coach Willie Coulter said. “As long as we play good defense, we have a chance. Big Sandy is salty, and we did a heckuva job in the third quarter.

“The team has felt disrespected all year long, and they were all about proving something. It is what they have inside here (their hearts) that matters.”

Clarksville outscored Big Sandy, 24-16, in the third quarter to take an 8-point lead going into the final quarter.

Quay Scales, who finished with a game-high 24 points, hit five treys during the game for the Tigers. Teammate George Cherry also hit five, 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.

Clarksville outscored the Wildcats 48-32 in the second half after going into halftime tied at 29-29.

Cherry knocked down two treys, and Quay Scales knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as the Tigers jumped out on a 12-0 run to start the fourth.

After Big Sandy hit a shot from downtown, La’Vante Edwards, who finished with 13 points, hit a trey to give Clarksville a 20-point lead at 68-48.

The Wildcats could not recover from the deficit, and shot 40 percent from the field for the game on 19 of 47 shots.

Clarksville shot 52 percent from the field on 25-of-48 shooting.

Big Sandy went on an 8-0 run to close out the first quarter and take a 5-point lead.

Kyrie King had the first points of the game for Clarksville when he connected on a trey. King paced the Tigers with five points in the first.

One of the differences was turnovers; the Tigers committed eight in the first quarter, while Big Sandy had just four.

Clarksville connected on 5 of 9 shots in the first for a 56 field goal percentage, while the Wildcats were 6 of 13 for 46 percent.

Quay Scales connected on two charity shots for the Tigers to start the second. Neomiaha Scales hit a putback, and Quay Scales converted the traditional 3-point play to make it 17-all.

Joshua Shipman drove the lane and hit a layup for Big Sandy to make it 19-17.

Moments later, Cherry knocked down a shot from 3-point land to give Clarksville a 25-23 lead.

La’Vante Edwards drove the lane for a layup to give the Tigers a 4-point lead.

The Wildcats scored the last four points of the quarter to knot it up at 29-all going into halftime.

Clarksville shot 48 percent from the field in the first half on 10-of-21 shooting. Big Sandy connected on 11 of 26 shots for 42 percent.

The Tigers will play in the Class 2A regional semifinals.