Tish County and Alcorn Central get a split in basketball action
Article by Matthew Willis
The basketball season officially began for Tishomingo County and Alcorn Central on November 7th. Tishomingo County made the short trip to Glen for two varsity matchups that were sure to bring some excitement.
At 6 p.m., the varsity girls tipped off and an exciting first quarter was underway. A very defensive first quarter led to very little offensive production for both teams but the Tishomingo County Lady Braves led 7-5 through 8 minutes. The Braves found more offensive production in the 2nd quarter and led 20-14 at halftime with Baylon Middleton leading the way for Tishomingo County with 9 points and Branna Quinn with 6 for the Lady Golden Bears. The Braves second-half defense proved to be dominant as they held the Lady Golden Bears to only 4 in the third quarter as the Braves jumped to a 40-20 lead.
The Alcorn Central offense proved they could score late in the game as they scored 16 points in the 4th quarter but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lady Braves. Coach Brian Middleton and the Lady Braves wrapped the game in blue and white as they defeated the Alcorn Central Lady Braves 54-34. Meg Moore scored a game-high 16 points and 6 rebounds for the Lady Braves and Branna Quinn scored a game-high 8 points for the Lady Golden Bears.
The Braves and Golden Bears met twice over the summer with a split series, both teams winning 1 game, so this matchup was destined to be a good one. The Braves jumped to the lead early in the first quarter, 10-0, but the Golden Bears ended the quarter with 8 unanswered points and the Braves led 10-8 at the end of the 1st. Both offenses were dominant in the second quarter as the game went to halftime, tied 24-24. Kayson McNutt had scored 8 for the Braves at the halfway point and Andrew Williams had 10 for the Golden Bears.
The third quarter was rather low-scoring but gave the Golden Bears their first lead of the game, 34-31. The final quarter was offensive dominant for both teams with the final score coming to 51-48 and Alcorn Central taking the win at home. Ayden McDeavitt scored a game-high 16 points for the Braves and Andrew Williams scored a game-high 13 points for the Golden Bears.
After watching the girl’s game, it became clear that if a team lets 8th grader Meg Moore get hot, then she will become a big problem. Meg scored 16 points, all in the second half, and led the offense for the Lady Braves. Brian Middleton officially began his 8th year at Tishomingo County and got off to a great start. My advice for opposing 4A teams is, don’t let the Lady Braves get hot!
Clark Whitten officially began his 1st season as the head coach for the Alcorn Central Golden Bears and this team is much improved. Andrew Williams led the Golden Bears all night and will be a problem for opposing teams. Kayson McNutt and Ayden McDeavitt led the Braves in a narrow loss to the Golden Bears but expect these 2 guys to work together to some wins this season.
