In a game that started out as a back-and-forth contest between two competitive teams, it was the North Pike girls who ramped-up their defensive play in the second half before walking away with a 55-35 win at home Friday over Lawrence County.
“It was a big win tonight,” North Pike head coach Laura Holman said. “I was proud of the way that we played and we executed well defensively and offensively.”
The leading scorer for the Jaguars (6-5, 2-2) was Amari Davis who had a game-high 28 points in the win.
“Hopefully this win will set us off in the right direction,” she said. “The last two were some pretty tough losses and to come in and play this team and get this win under our belts, it is big.”
While Davis got off to a great start with six first quarter points, it was matched by Jamey McDaniel as the senior also imposed her will early on. She adds that it was important to set the tone early in the game.
“I would say that it gives us a lot of energy and it helps get us going in the first quarter and helps my teammates get out of their shy zone,” she said.
McDaniel finished with 10 points.
The Cougars hung around and pulled within two points on two occasions early in the second quarter. However afterward, the Jaguars got into more of a rhythm as they began to pull away. Their lead grew to 10 at the half at 28-18 following a 6-0 run.
In the third quarter they picked up where they left off the previous period with a 7-0 run, growing their lead to 35-18.
Lawrence County kept fighting, but for every score the Cougars were able to generate, it was matched by North Pike.
Amari Barnes was a big reason for that as the freshman had a seven-point quarter which included a 3-pointer. From there, North Pike kept pouring it on while also running time off the clock to preserve the win.
Jaguars lose to Cougars
Despite late-game heroics, pulling back to within two after being down by as many as 17, the North Pike boys could not complete the comeback, falling to Lawrence County 51-45 at home Friday night.
“I like the fight and all, but we have to do better. We were very unprepared for this game,” North Pike head coach Terrell Anderson said. “Our guys were going out and not executing. Everything that they threw at us, we went over. It is like we are not doing what we were doing in practice. I love the way that my guys fought to get back in the game, but we should not have been in that deep of a hole anyway.”
Both teams got off to a slow start trying to establish their offenses.
However when the scoring started it was the Cougars who grabbed the upper hand and never relinquished it. The Jaguars (4-8, 0-4) pulled within one at about the halfway point of the first quarter, but could not grab the lead.
Despite this, North Pike remained within striking distance for the remainder of the first half, trailing by six at 27-21 at the end of the second quarter.
In the third, however, the Jaguars were flat and the Cougars took advantage. Lawrence County out-scored North Pike 13-7 to grow its lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars began to show some life in the fourth quarter. A pair of seniors in Jaylon Bonds and Kentrail Smith established a 12-0 run, pulling North Pike within five at 45-40.
Not long afterward, a 3-pointer from JP Johnson followed by another make from Smith cut the deficit down to two.
But the Jaguars could not keep it going, as the Cougars scored the final four points to pull out the win.
Bonds led the Jaguars with 13 points.
