Lakeland —
It took Wilcox High’s Patriots a half to get their act together, but when they did there was no stopping them as Lanier County High’s Bulldogs discovered Saturday night.
With the game between the two Region 2-A members deadlocked at intermission, coach George Kennedy’s visitors turned in back-to-back 21-point productions the last two quarters en route to a final 67-50 win.
That triumph got Wilcox a split of the night’s competition as coach Santita Coon’s Lady Patriots had earlier dropped a 64-28 decision to the previously winless Lady Bulldogs.
Both the Patriots, who stood 13-3 overall and 7-1 in league play after their win here, and the Lady Patriots (3-10, 1-7) will visit Charlton County on Friday and host Telfair County on Saturday.
Patriots 67, Bulldogs 50
After watching their 15-11 first period lead turn into a 25-25 tie at halftime partially as the result of several unforced turnovers they committed, the Wilcox boys settled down when play resumed and seized control of things.
“When we started finishing plays and executing like we’re supposed to do, we gradually pulled away from them,” said Kennedy who saw his team win the third quarter scoring battle 21-14 and take the fourth 21-11.
“In the end, I especially liked the balance we had among the players who broke into the scoring column for us. On the other hand, we’re still not hitting the boards like we should be and that’s an area we really need to improve.”
Jonathan Howard, who had missed Friday night’s victory over Echols County due to a football recruiting trip, pumped in 21 points to lead a Patriots attack that included 17 from Calvin Rawls, 13 from Makail Grace and 10 from Johnny Dwight.
The duo of Devin Charles, 17, and Larry Cannon, 15, were the top guns for Lanier.
Score by Quarters
Wilcox County 15-10-21-21 — 67
Lanier County 11-14-14-11 — 50
Scoring
Wilcox County (67) — Quinn Tisdol 4, Larry Munford, Makail Grace 13, Calvin Rawls 17, Antwan Benjamin 2, A.J. Benjamin, Jonathan Howard 21, Johnny Dwight 10.
Team totals: field goals 28; free throws 4 of 7 (57.1%); fouls 18; 3-pointers — Grace 3, Rawls 3, Howard 1; fouled out — none.
Lanier County (50) — Zares Kimbrough 2, Andrew Patten 7, Demetrius Williams 3, Javan Smith 6, Larry Cannon 15, Devin Carlos 17.
Team totals: field goals 18; free throws 13 of 20 (65%); fouls 11; 3-pointers — Cannon 1; fouled out — none.
Lady ’Dogs 64, Lady Pats 28
Even though they had lost six previous games by bigger margins than they did this one, this quite likely was the low point to date for the struggling Lady Patriots.
“It was the same old story, the same old things as we couldn’t get anything going offensively or defensively and also got killed on the boards,” Coon said.
“In reality, we had nothing going for us at all and considering that we now are the only team Lanier has beaten, this outcome has to rank as our season low.”
While Lanier got double digit scoring from the trio of Tomeka Clark, 24, Catherine Core, 18, and Savannah Davis, 11, Wilcox had no player get more than eight points.
Score by Quarters
Wilcox County 6-8-4-10 — 28
Lanier County 19-14-17-14 — 64
Scoring
Wilcox County (28) — Shawnjirah Grace, Dasjia Daniels 8, Tyonna Wright, Kierra Love, Kadada Martin 7, Shantia Lawson 3, Jada Curry 2, Erica Jackson 3, Takayla Mahoganey 5, Shonterria Thompson, Miracle Jones.
Team totals: field goals 9; free throws 8 of 13 (61.5%); fouls 12; 3-pointers — Mahoganey 1, Martin 1; fouled out — none.
Lanier County (64) — Zekeyah Riley 2, Nabika Clarkston 5, Tomeka Clark 24, Whitney Houston 2. Lexie Clark 2, Savannah Davis 11, Catherine Core 18.
Team totals: field goals 28; free throws 7 of 16 (43.8%); fouls 13; 3-pointers — Clarkston 1; fouled out — none.
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Patriots' strong finish gets Wilcox a split with Lanier
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