Tigers pounce on Lions
TEXARKANA, Texas — Texas High’s girls dominated Greenville in the girls District 15-5A basketball game Tuesday at Tiger Center, and the Tiger boys knocked off the Lions.
The Lady Tigers gained a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, and the game was never closer during a 62-27 THS win.
In the boys game, Texas High fought tooth-and-nail against the Lions, building a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and holding on for a 67-64 victory.
Girls
Texas High 62, Greenville 27
Texas High trailed for just 21 seconds early in the game, but the Lady Tigers had Greenville chasing the rest of the way.
The Lady Tigers broke open the game with a 26-point second quarter, taking a 20-point lead at intermission, and they continued to add to their advantage the rest of the way.
Up 37-17 to start the second half, THS went on a 10-3 run to take a 47-20 lead into the fourth period. Texas High (1410, 4-2) finished the fourth quarter with a 15-10 run.
The Tigers shot 39 percent on 26-of-67 field goals. Texas High won the rebounding battle, 48-40, and forced 33 turnovers while committing 24.
The Lady Lions (3-23, 1-5) shot just 13 percent on 6-of-47 shooting.
The Tigers closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run as Greenville didn’t score over the last 5:54 of the first. Texas High took an 11-4 lead at the first break and led 13-7 early in the second quarter.
The Lions responded with three points, cutting its deficit to 13-7. Over the next 2:15, Texas High scored 14 consecutive points to take a commanding 27-7 lead with 4:35 left before intermission.
The teams played the rest of the half on even terms, and the Tigers took a 37-17 lead into halftime.
THS shot 47 percent (15 of 32) in the first half, and Greenville shot 18 percent (4 of 22). The Lions had 20 turnovers, compared to 15 for the Tigers, and Texas High also had a 21-15 advantage on the boards.
Ashanti Northcross led the Tigers with 11 points, Kerrighan Dunn had 10 points, and and Keturah Johnson scored eight and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Boys
Texas High 67, Greenville 64
The Tigers got a big contribution from A.J. Meeks off the bench, and
C.J. Kelley turned in a double-double as he dominated down low for Texas High.
THS (12-12, 2-2) shot 42 percent from the floor on 21-of-50 shooting. The Tigers held a 36-26 advantage in rebounding and had 14 turnovers to the Lions’ 12.
Greenville had a 50 percent field goal percentage on 26-of-52 shooting.
The Lions opened the second half on a 9-2 run to go ahead 32-28. Texas High came back with a 7-2 rally and closed the third on another 7-2 run to take a 42-38 lead. Meeks scored 10 points in the third for the Tigers.
THS extended its lead to 46-38 with a pair of quick baskets in the fourth quarter. After a 3-pointer by the Lions, the Tigers scored four in a row for a 50-41 lead with 5:22 remaining.
After another Greenville score, THS scored five in a row for a 55-43 lead with 3:53 left on the game clock.
The Lions cut the Tiger lead to 59-55 before the home team went up 10 points, again, at 65-55 with 38 ticks left. Greenville hit three 3-pointers to cut the lead to its final tally.
The Lions (25-6, 2-2) took a 9-4 lead just 3:20 into the game, but
Texas High got on track, offensively, and closed the first on a 9-1 run to grab a 13-10 lead. Greenville regained the lead at 17-16 with 5:07 left in the half.
The Tigers answered with a 6-point run — the longest by either team in the first half — to go up 22-17 and led by seven twice before back-to-back fast-break layups by the Lions cut their deficit to 26-23 at intermission.
Texas High shot 33 percent (8 of 24) in the first half, compared to 46 percent by Greenville, which converted 10 of 22 field goals.
THS held a 20-14 advantage on the glass and committed eight turnovers, while the Lions had seven turnovers in the opening 16 minutes.
Kelley scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds for Texas High, and Meeks scored 20 points — 17 after halftime.
Quin Anderson drained five 3s and scored 21 to lead the Lions. Kadrien Carter scored 11 points, and Cam Smith had 10 points and nine boards.
The Tigers won the junior varsity game, 50-44. Jayden Godwin led THS with 16 points, Braxton White scored 12 and Sawyer Pritchard had nine. Jayden Bennett led the Lions with 12 points.