Cane Varsity Teams Go 1-2 Over Weekend

The varsity Hurricane squads fell to Northeast High School on the road Tuesday in a region match-up.

Tuesday’s defeats give the boys and girls squads two losses each in the region. The Lady Canes two region losses currently place them as the fourth seed while the boys are seeded second.

Against Northeast, the Lady Canes lost 43-33, nearly the same margin the Lady Canes beat them by a few weeks ago.

“Rebounding and free throws are really hurting us,” said head coach Tamika Thomas.

The girls’ squad only went 7-of-29 from the free throw line against Northeast.

Prior to Tuesday’s action the varsity girls racked up one win and one loss over the weekend while playing with home court advantage.

The Lady Canes fell to Putnam 55-34 Friday prior to defeating Jackson 41-38 on Saturday.

The boys fell 77-65 at Northeast after being down by as much as 20 and launching a comeback to cut the lead to 9 but time was not on their side.

“Our free throwing and three-point shooting failed us at Northeast. We beat them the first time around but their home court advantage really helped them,” said boys varsity coach B.J. Thomas.

De’Miria Glover had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Stone had 9 points and 5 assists; and C.J. Adams also had 9.

Coach Thomas noted that players on both squads had been having bouts with flu-like symptoms but that was not offered as any type of excuses for not playing to their full potential.

Over the weekend the Canes earned a region win against the War Eagles but lost a heartbreaker to the Red Devils.

The 4-AA region win over Putnam 76-58 was resounding and welcomed as it took the varsity squad to 5-1 in the conference and perches them solidly in second place.

Senior Avery Davis was named Player of the Game as he earned 18 points, all three-point shoots, hot off the bench. He also had two assists and two rebounds.

Senior Quinton Standifer added another 15 points including two three-pointers, to his stats. Standifer also racked up six assists, three rebounds, and a steal. He was flawless from the free throw line making 1-of-1.

Stone had 11 points; Glover and Adams each had 10 points; Jakari Middlebrooks, 8; Dewaune Benton and Ashton Bonner each added 2.

Stone had 4 assists, Adams had 3, Bonner and Middlebrooks each had 1 assist.

Glover led the way in rebounds with 12, nine defensive and three offensive; Middlebrooks had 8, six offensive and two defensive; Bonner added 5, three defensive and two offensive.

“The win against Putnam helped our position of retaining the #2 seed and luckily the loss to Northeast didn’t undo that but we will need to be strong against Lamar this weekend or we could be in a three-way lock.”

Saturday’s 65-63 loss to Jackson was a hard pill to swallow for Cane fans and the team.

Glover led the boards in points with 18 and rebounds with 10, five each offensive and defensive. He added four blocks and a steal while also going 6-of-10 from the free throw line.

Standifer had 10 points, two rebounds and a single assist.

Middlebrooks posted 9 points; 8 rebounds, five offensive and three defensive; two blocks and one steal. He made 5-of-6 free throws.

Stone had 8 points, three assists, and one rebound; Bonner had 7 points, two rebounds, and one assist; Davis had 6 points; and Adams had 5 points, two assists, and two rebounds.

The varsity squads will travel to Washington County tomorrow, Jan. 23 for a non-region competition that will begin with the girls at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m. The teams head to Lamar County Saturday, Jan. 24 to begin a five game region stretch before closing out the regular season. Tip-off for Saturday is set for 4 p.m. for the JV boys with the varsity teams to follow.

On Tuesday, Jan. 27 the varsity Hurricanes return to home court advantage against Crawford, the current region leader and the other region team to which the Canes have lost thus far.