Team effort sends Gordon Lee boys past Signal Mountain
After two tough back-to-back losses to Heritage and Coahulla Creek on Nov. 22 and 23, the Gordon Lee Trojans went to the Ridgeland Thanksgiving Classic last Tuesday looking to bounce back and that’s exactly what they did.
With emphasis on team rebounding and swarming on defense all night long, the Trojans broke open what had been a close game for three quarters and moved to 2-2 overall with an impressive win over a solid Signal Mountain Eagles squad.
Gordon Lee led by a point, 14-13, at the end of the first quarter and the two teams went to the locker room tied at 20. The Trojans built a seven-point lead in the third quarter at 28-21, only to see Signal Mountain end the period on a 12-4 run to take a 33-32 lead into the final quarter.
However, the Trojans would score the first 10 points of the final stanza, while shutting the Eagles down on the defensive end of the floor. Signal Mountain connected on just one field goal in the final period — a 3-pointer by Terrance Russell — but that basket would not come until just 90 seconds remained in the game.
Sam Norton had three 3-pointers and led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points. Will Carswell added 10, followed by Gavin McAlister with nine, Weston Beagles with eight and Anthony Peco, who scored six points and gave the Trojans a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor.
Russell hit four 3-pointers for the Eagles to lead the way for his team with 12 points.
The Lady Trojans were at a significant height disadvantage in their game at the Ridgeland Thanksgiving Classic last Tuesday. Despite giving a tremendous effort, the Navy-and-White fell short of victory as they dropped the game to the Lady Eagles
Signal Mountain center Olivia Koontz, who is being recruited by several colleges, controlled the paint to the tune of 22 points as the Lady Eagles took a 30-16 lead into intermission after leading by only three points, 12-9, at the end of the first quarter.
Emma McGraw hit three 3-pointers and led Gordon Lee with 17 points, while Star Alexander had six points on two 3-pointers for the Lady Trojans, who fell to 0-4 on the year.