Fatigued Tigers tumble twice at Riverbend Classic

Caruthersville High School senior guard Jermonte Alexander drives to the basket against West Memphis on Friday at the Riverbend Classic at New Madrid County Central High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

NEW MADRID – With a portion of his roster having barely taken off their football pads, veteran Caruthersville High School boy’s basketball coach Lamonte Bell had tempered expectations as his team opened its season on Friday against West Memphis in the Riverbend Classic at New Madrid County Central High School.

“Are we ready,” Bell pondered earlier in the week. “No. But will we compete? Yes.”

His team did that on Friday, as it fell methodically 74-50.

“I was kind of expecting to play a little slow,” Bell said following the loss, “considering we have not had much gym time.”

That showed as the Tigers (0-1) battled the very talented Blue Devils to a 16-16 score early in the second quarter before West Memphis tore off.

“We played rather well in the first half,” Bell said. “But our legs were gone pretty quickly in the second half.”

The Blue Devils took a 41-34 lead into halftime, before limiting Caruthersville (0-1) to just 16 second-half points.

A positive for the Tigers was that they placed three players in double figures, led by junior forward Quawnterrious McVay with 16 points.

“I think once we get going and are in better condition,” Bell said, “we could have four players score in double figures.”

Senior guard Jermonte Alexander and junior guard Sammy Bryant each scored 14 points in the loss.

Senior Emuarion Truss added four points for Caruthersville while senior Colbe Sargent and senior Gavin Motton each hit a free throw.

“That was pretty evident,” Bell continued on his team’s fatigue. “We were missing easy shots. We just stopped executing on the offensive end and let guys get around us on the defensive end.

“I’m not real concerned, because we’ve got time to get better.”

The Tigers concluded the tournament with a 77-33 loss to Marion (Ark.) on Saturday.

Caruthersville will visit Poplar Bluff on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.