Semoball

High School Basketball Forum: Caruthersville vs Hayti

*
Posted by Cheesehead. on Sat, Jan 14, 2012, at 12:40 PM:

Tigers win Battle of the Bootheel

By MATT DUCKWORTH

DA Sports Editor

CARUTHERSVILLE - The Caruthersville Tigers got off to a quick start and were able to defeat rival Hayti Friday night by the score of 66-52 in the basketball version of the "Battle of the Bootheel." With the victory before a packed house at the new Joe Parkinson Gymnasium, the state's sixth-ranked Tigers improved their record to 10-2 on the season, while the Indians fell to 6-7.

The game started with the Indians scoring the first bucket on a Demetrius Luster layup. The 2-0 advantage would be the only lead the Indians would enjoy on the night. The Tigers quickly answered with a 5-0 run which was capped by a ferocious one handed slam dunk by sophomore Darrell Monroe, who finished with 18 points on the night. Another Tiger sophomore, Jamal Johnson, had two big threes in the opening quarter and finished with 15 points in the game.At the end of the first, the Tigers led the Indians, 17-9.

Once again Luster,who had nine points to lead Hayti, opened the second quarter with a bucket, but just like in the first the Tigers answered that with a streak of points. A 6-0 run from the Tigers put their lead at double digits, 23-11 at the 6:50 mark. The Tigers played their usual smothering style of defense in the second quarter which gave the Indians fits and forced many turnovers from the Tribe. Neither team shot the ball extremely well in the second quarter, but the Tigers did enough to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Indians made a couple small runs in the the third, but were never able to get the deficit under 10 points. Thanks to a combined 13 points from the Tigers two top scorers on the year, Monroe and Johnson, Caruthersville was able to push their lead up to 53-36, but a long distance buzzer beater from Indians' guard Karnard Humes sent the game to the fourth with the Tigers leading 53-39.

Caruthersville started quickly in the fourth with a 5-0 run which pushed the lead up to 58-39. Another Tiger run later in the quarter pushed their lead as high as20 points at 65-45, but the Indians would not roll over and die. They outscored the Tigers 8-1 in the last two minutes of the game, but it would be too little, too late, as the final buzzer sounded with the Tigers winning 66-52. It was the Tigers fifth straight victory over their Pemiscot County foes.

Despite taking the loss on the night, Indians head Coach Phillip Taylor was pleased with his team's effort. "I thought my team played well and I am proud of them," said Taylor. "If we can compete like this with a bigger school that is state ranked, then we should be able to fair well in our district, which is what we are striving for."

Tigers' head coach David Heeb was also pleased with his teams effort, but not necessarily their execution. "We played hard but awful on the offensive end of the ball," said Heeb. "We couldn't hit a shot or free throw at times. Sometimes when you get two teams like Hayti and Caruthersville together both teams play so hard that execution takes a back seat. It doesn't matter if we are playing basketball or checkers, these two schools are going to give each other a heck of a game."

With the homestretch of the season coming up, Coach Taylor said he believes learning to compete will be the key to his teams success. "You can't play to the level of the team you are playing, you have to go out and play your best. We have tough games coming up, including the conference tournament, where we may have to play Caruthersville or Kennett again. We also have #1 Risco coming to town. To compete with these teams you have to give it your all and I think my team will be up to that challenge."

Coach Heeb and the Tigers have some tough games of their own coming up, including Dyer County, #1 ranked Charleston and # 4 ranked Class 4 Sikeston. "We believe steel sharpens steel," said Heeb. "You gotta play the teams that are trying to win a championship if you want to win a championship. The next couple of weeks are going to be tough, but we are looking forward to them."

The Battle of the Bootheel Varsity game was preceded by two other matchups between the schools. In ladies hoops, the Indians were able to beat the Tigers 49-41 and in Junior Varsity action the Tigers put a beat down on the Tribe 72-42.

Varsity Scoring

CARUTHERSVILLE (66) Darrell Monroe 18, Jamal Johnson 15, Steve Rodgers 12, Elbie Fonda 12, Belton McWilliams 4, Lee Jones 3, Tyler Grissom 2. FT 9 for 22. (3 pointers Jamal Johnson 3, Elbie Fonda 1, Steve Rodgers 1.)

HAYTI (52) Demetrius Luster 9, Karnard Humes 7, Keenon Norris 6, Maurion Newbill 6, Jermel Covington 6, Hunter Turner 6, Keydric Dillard 5, Frankie Burden 4, Jerome Thomas 3. FT 10 for 15. (3 pointers Jermel Covington 1, Hunter Turner 1, Karnard Humes 1.)

JV

CARUTHERSVILLE (72) Malik Monroe 19, Jerod Shackleford 13, Tyler Grissom 9, Antonio Rodgers 7, Dalton Johnson 7, Dashwn Lee 5, Trevonne Leatherwood 4, Daniel Fugate 4, Coleman Tramble 4. FT 3 for 7. (3 pointers Dashawn Lee 1, Jerod Shackleford 1, Dalton Johnson 1.)

HAYTI (42) Brandon Burden 11, Devan Riddick 10, Cedric Harris 8, Rayshon Stringfellow 4, Cedric Fields 4, Josh Smith 3, Kenyatte Brooks 2. FT 3 for 10. (3 pointers none)

Respond to this thread

Posting a comment requires free registration: