BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Late drive pushes H-J past Nederland
Published 9:35 pm Tuesday, November 20, 2018
- Nederland and Hardin-Jefferson players fight for a loose ball Tuesday in Nederland. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
Jason Persohn made all the right moves down the stretch.
Following a missed bonus free throw by Nederland, Hardin-Jefferson’s post man took a pass at the left wing, spun off a defender to the right of the key and drew a foul as he powered his way for a layup with 2.9 seconds left, giving the Hawks a 67-65 victory at the Dog Dome on Tuesday.
Final seconds of Hardin-Jefferson 67, Nederland 65 pic.twitter.com/cUxpNwpwiB
— I.C. Murrell (@ICMurrellPB) November 21, 2018
Hardin-Jefferson (3-1) was ahead 65-60 with a minute to go before Hayden Hefner sank two free throws for the Bulldogs (2-2). A tie-up with 39.4 seconds gave the Bulldogs the ball back, and Joseph Gipson nailed a three-point basket for the tie with 30 seconds to go.
Nederland was fouled on a rebound with 9.4 seconds left, but Dareion Jones missed the bonus shot. Officials put 0.3 second back on the clock after ruling Hardin-Jefferson touched the ball before it went out of bounds on a rebound attempt of Persohn’s missed free throw. The Bulldogs, however, could not get a shot off before the buzzer.
Hefner had 26 points, but Gipson’s five three-point makes kept the Bulldogs going. Gipson finished with 17.
Persohn led H-J with 26 and Bruce Green poured in 24 points.
Nederland will visit Crosby next Tuesday.
Bridge City 67, Kountze 45
In Kountze, balanced scoring helped the Cardinals (3-1) fly past the Lions.
Austin Richardson and Kolten Weeks each scored 14 points, and Beau Martin and Zeke Champagne each put in 12 for the Cards, who go to Kirbyville next Tuesday.
West Brook 90, PNG 63
In Beaumont, a strong first half set the tome for West Brook in a 27-point win over Port Neches-Groves.
Drake Rojas scored 24 points and Tracy Smith had 20 for the Indians, who trailed 25-10 through one quarter and 44-20 at halftime.
PNG will host Kelly next Tuesday.
GIRLS
Orangefield 71, PNG 45
In Port Neches, Chelsea Carrillo pulled down 14 rebounds to go with nine points, but the 3A Bobcats (4-0) proved too much for the 5A Indians (4-2).
PNG coach Kara Skinner called it an “off day,” adding the Indians didn’t play defense like they could have, missed easy baskets and failed to capitalize on opportunities given. “Hopefully we got it out of our system today,” she said.
Maylin Stampley led PNG with 14 points, and Mollee Priddy added 12.
Next for PNG is a visit to Anahuac next Tuesday.
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Also Tuesday: Silsbee beat Memorial 79-49.
BOYS (MONDAY)
Tekoa 63, West Hardin 52
Two Tekoa Academy basketball players reached double figures Monday, and the Cougars improved to 4-0 with a 63-52 win over West Hardin in Saratoga.
Robert Scott had 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Lesley Harmanson notched 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block for the Cougars, who built on a 34-32 halftime lead.
Tekoa coach Melvin Sostand cited “tenacious defense and timely offense” for the win. Troy Angelle, Kevin Laday and Darryl Prevost each had three steals.
Tekoa will visit the Memorial JV at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Nederland 70, LCM 26
In Little Cypress, J.B. Rahe had 16 points, leading the Bulldogs (2-1) to a 44-point win over the Bears.
Nederland hosts Hardin-Jefferson at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Sabine Pass 52, Lighthouse 40
At Ridgewood Baptist Church in Port Arthur, Harold James scored 32 points, and Sabine Pass (2-1) took a 12-point win over the Lighthouse homeschool team based in Port Arthur.
James is averaging 25 points through the first three games.
Sabine Pass will visit High Island next Tuesday.
About I.C. Murrell
I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
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