Purple Tigers shoot up to No. 4

Watertown boys climb three spots in AP poll

By Andy Reed

andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com

Watertown's boys shot up three spots to No. 4 in the latest Associated Press Class A poll released Monday.

The Purple Tigers' 21 wins [against three losses] are the most of any team in the top 10. They picked up 107 points to finish behind No. 3 Mt. Pleasant [18-2, 152 points] and ahead of No. 5 Union City [16-7, 94].

Booker T. Washington [18-3] is No. 1 with 184 points built largely on the strength of 15 first-place votes. No. 2 Wartburg [19-3] drew the other four No. 1s and finished with 163.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 6 Richland [20-5, 93 points], No. 7 Columbia Academy [19-4, 69], No. 8 Trinity Christian [20-4, 58], No. 9 Cloudland [18-8, 47] and No. 10 Humboldt [18-5, 37].

Clay County fell out of the top 10 to No. 11 with 21 points. Hampton is No. 12 with 13.

Watertown will travel to Gordonsville tonight as the Purple Tigers look to nail down the No. 1 seed in the upcoming District 8-A tournament.

Friendship boys bounce back to beat Ezell-Harding

Friendship Christian's boys bounced back from a 40-point loss at Watertown last Friday with a 59-52 triumph over visiting Ezell-Harding on Monday night at the Bay Family Sportsplex.

The Commanders led 18-5 following the first quarter, 32-21 at halftime and 48-37 through three before connecting on 7 of 10 free throws in the fourth to climb to 7-13 for the season.

"It was a good bounce-back game," Friendship assistant coach Jason Miller said. "Ezell's a good team; they have 14 wins."

Forward Allen Heaston poured in 23 points for Friendship while point guard Zac Anderson recovered from his Friday night illness to toss in two three-pointers on his way to 11. Forward Andrew Wood added 10 of his 11 points in the first half. Colton Gaines scored seven, Anthony Williams three and Mackey Bentley and Cody Walker two apiece.

Austin Gee fired in four triples in leading Ezell-Harding with 18 points while wing Ryan Caldwell connected on three triples en route to 10.

Friendship will play host to Pickett County for Senior Night on Friday as the Commanders end their regular season.

Wheels fall off for Lady Commanders in second half

Friendship Christian's girls were in good shape Monday night with a five-point lead going into the second half of their game against visiting Ezell-Harding at the Bay Family Sportsplex.

Then the wheels fell off.

The Lady Commanders scored just seven second-half points as a five-point halftime lead turned into a 51-37 loss.

"The energy went out of us," Lady Commander coach Deanna Teeter said after Friendship fell to 15-7. "I cannot explain it."

The Lady Commanders climbed out of a 12-11 first-quarter deficit to lead 30-25 at halftime before Ezell-Harding dominated the third period 13-2 to go up 38-32.

Haleigh Johnson tossed in 12 points to lead the Lady Eagles.

Center Deja Jones led the Lady Commanders with 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Taylor Patterson popped in a pair of three-pointers for six while Kaitlyn Teeter finished with four points and four rebounds. Kristian Watkins collected five assists as she and Aubrey Hawks had two points apiece.

The Lady Commanders committed 22 turnovers - 11 in each half. They also took down 22 rebounds, 15 below their average.

Friendship will close its regular season Friday night when Pickett County comes in for a 6 p.m. Senior Night game.