FLORENCE — The McComb High School girls and boys basketball teams continued district play at Florence High on Tuesday. The Tigers remained undefeated with an 88-62 win over the Eagles.
A pregame technical resulted in Florence (5-14, 1-4) leading the Tigers, 2-0 to start the game. McComb senior Antonio Cowart drained a 3-pointer to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. When Florence regained the lead, junior Zarkeichious Martin hit another 3 to give the Tigers the lead for good.
“We were able to execute and get our interior game going because we weren’t shooting the ball very well from the outside,” McComb head coach Hilton Harrell said. “We shot better and the interior opened back up.”
“Anybody can beat anybody at any given time,” Harrell said. “We saw some things we need to work on, but we’ll be prepared next time after reviewing the film”
Martin led Tigers with 25, seniors Tredarius Lee and Quadarius Green both finished with 16. Cowart finished with 13.
The Tigers (19-0, 5-0) travel to North Pike for a 7 pm tipoff.
The Lady Tigers couldn’t find as much success in the second half as top-ranked Florence won 61-53 .
“In the first half, we fought hard,” Lady Tigers’ head coach Charlton Grey said. “And the second half, it’s like we gave up a little bit. The young ladies still fought hard but at the same time, we’ve got to convert.”
The Lady Tigers (13-7, 4-1) were led by sophomores Dellsheonia Dixon with 21 points and Destiny Smith, 9, while junior Mylisha Hammond added 10 points, 10 assists, five steals and six rebounds.
Grey credited his young team for continuing to fight after falling behind.
“I’m very proud of them. That’s not going to change,” Grey said. “I want them to realize they’re not always going to get the call so they can’t get down to where it’s hard to build them back up.
“We were able to get the score back down 52-57, but we missed two easy shots and a three. If we could have made those we would’ve been up by 1.”
Dixon and Smith had 10 rebounds respectively, while sophomore Chardonay Williams added five steals and three blocks.
“It’s going to be a different ballgame, we’re going to get ready for them to come play in the Tiger’s Den,” Grey said. “Florence is a very good team, they’re disciplined and they did the things they were supposed to do to win. We had opportunities but we came up a little short, we’re always disappointed in a loss but we’ll be fine.”
Florence senior Danyelle Lewis hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter. Lewis finished with 24 points.
The Lady Tigers (13-7, 4-1) travel to North Pike on Friday, while Florence (17-2, 4-1) travels to Lawrence County. Tipoffs are set for 6 p.m.
