Hurricane Squads Enjoy Weekend Sweep
The Monticello Hurricane basketball season is starting to pick up steam, and both boys and girls teams were in action over the weekend, first hosting the Bulldogs of Mary Persons on Friday, and then traveling across the county line Saturday to face the Red Devils of Jackson.
The Bulldogs came calling on Friday the 13th, and with both Hurricane varsity squads in search of win number one for the season, the rival weekend was guaranteed to become a feast. The Lady Canes started the varsity action for the afternoon. Both teams started out cold, with the local ladies down 8-3 after the first quarter. A big second quarter could have been a premonition of things to come as they cut the Lady Bulldog advantage to two at the half, with Mary Persons ahead 19-17.
After a low scoring third quarter the offense came alive in the fourth, outscoring the Lady Dogs 23-15 to take the lead late and hold on for a 49-46 victory, the first of coach Josh Stone’s varsity coaching career. The Lady Hurricanes were led in the fourth quarter by Jazmin Maddox’s seven of her game high 16, and Desi Appling, who dropped in five of her 11 points in the high scoring quarter. Kamryn Davis was the third Lady Cane in double figures, finishing with 11 as well.
In the boys’ game, the Hurricanes went up 33-18 after a strong first half, and continued their domination of the Bulldogs by outscoring them 24-17 in the second half for a final score of 57-35, with the Canes on top. The Hurricanes were led by three in double figures, with Jamarkus Thomas leading the way with a team-high 17 points. Chance Ross chipped in a season-high 12 points, followed by Malik Epps with 10.
A quick turnaround and both teams were at it again on Saturday. A balanced scoring attack for the girls’ team, along with a defense that held their Jackson opponent to a paltry 14 second half points, saw the Lady Hurricanes take a 51-35 victory on the road. They were led in the scoring department by freshman Maddox with 14, junior Selena Harvey, who finished with 13, Appling with seven, and Malayha Thurman, who scored six. The win for the Lady Hurricanes moved their record up to 2-4 on the season.
The boys team was in for a nail biter, pulling out a 56-55 win over the rival Red Devils. Down 15-3 after the first quarter, the Hurricane boys dropped in 21 points in both the second and third quarter to overtake the Red Devils, taking a 45-42 lead into the 4th quarter. Both teams played even in the final quarter of play, and the Hurricanes were able to hold off a late scoring charge by Jackson to pull out the victory.
The boys were led again by junior Thomas who scored 18 in the contest, while Epps was the only other Hurricane scoring in double figures with 12. Aidon King and Denoyren Head contributed nine and six points respectively for the Hurricanes in the scoring column as well. The win for the Hurricanes brought their record to 2-3 for the season.
The Hurricane teams are back in action this week with three games, first traveling up to Roswell to take on the Centennial Knights Tuesday (game coverage will be provided in next week’s News), playing a return game at Mary Persons Friday, and hosting #1 Putnam County on Saturday.
Come out support the Canes!
