Four games, four wins for local teams on Tuesday night
Oneida scores a bunch, Highlanders mount big fourth quarter comeback, Lady Highlanders continue to shoot well, Lady Indians are dominant
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Oneida gets offensive in win over Oakdale
ONEIDA | When you’re in the final stages of a game and you lead by more points than your opponent has on the board, it’s been a good night.
It was a good night for Oneida on Tuesday, as the Indians opened the season with a 99-47 win over Oakdale, simply overwhelming the Eagles by scoring the most points the team had scored since putting 100 on the board in a December 2020 win over Coalfield.
Coach Jacob King purposely avoided scheduling Hall of Fame games this year to give his football players time to complete their season and return to the court, resulting in a later start for Oneida than most of the teams the Indians will face this season. That hardly seemed to matter on Tuesday, as Oneida shot 51% from the field in the first half to open a commanding 56-24 lead, then just kept scoring the ball in the second half. The Indians scored 33 points in the second quarter alone.
Grady Keeton, a district MVP candidate, had exactly the start to the season that you want your senior leader to have, shooting 11 of 16 and scoring a game-high 24 points. But there was plenty of offense to go around on this night — including sophomore Jaxson Phillips, who came off the bench to knock down five 3-point shots, finishing with 17 points. He was named the IH Sports Network’s First National Bank Player of the Game.
Canaan Shoemaker finished with 12 points, while Drayton Wade added 10. Jacob Marcum pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds and was named the IHSN’s Trophy Masters Hustle Award winner.
Oakdale didn’t shoot too poorly, finishing 41% in the first half before cooling down slightly in the second half. But the Eagles were harassed by Oneida’s defense, which forced 22 turnovers. James Journigan scored 17 to lead Oakdale.
As bad as things were for Oakdale heading into the fourth quarter, with Oneida having built an 81-41 lead at that point, the Eagles did not score a field goal for the final seven minutes and change of the game.
Hustle Board
Grady Keeton: 24p / 5r / 2a / 2s
Jaxson Phillips: 17p / 2r
Canaan Shoemaker: 12p / 3r / 4a / 3s
Drayton Wade: 10p / 3r / 3a / 2s
Kannon Gazay: 9p / 4a / 3s
Ben Gilbert: 8p / 6r / 2a
Brock Ryon: 5p / 8r / 3a / 2s
Brady Burke: 5p / 3r
Jake Marcum: 4p / 10r / 2s / 2b
Kason Hutcherson: 3p / 4r / 2b
Kenton Lay: 2p / 5r / 3a
Participation Report: Kaden Keeton.
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Lady Highlanders continue hot shooting in dominant win over Halls
HUNTSVILLE | Against Knox Halls on Tuesday, the sophomore Myah Sharp picked up right where she left off in the First National Bank Hall of Fame Classic 72 hours earlier — knocking down a 3-pointer in the corner to jump-start a 20-point effort that led all scorers.
For a third consecutive game, the Lady Highlanders made double-digit 3-point shots, and rode that shooting effort to a 61-36 win over the Red Devils.
Sharp had four of her team’s 10 three-pointers, and was named the IH Sports Network’s First National Bank Player of the Game.
Calli Strunk finished with six assists and six rebounds to earn the IHSN Trophy Masters Hustle Award.
Addy Rogers scored 13 first half points from her post position to pace things early for Scott High. But after opening a 12-point lead, the Lady Highlanders found Halls to be pesky. The Red Devils were down just eight with under a minute to play in the first half. Scott, though, closed on a 5-0 run — including three Sharp free throws after she was fouled on a heave with 1.2 seconds left — and never looked back. The Lady Highlanders led by as much as 31 points in the second half.
Freshman Mia Smith continued her impressive play, after scoring 21 points against Monterey on Saturday. She finished with 14 in Tuesday’s win.
Hustle Board
Myah Sharp: 20p / 4r / 2s
Mia Smith: 14p / 3r
Addy Rogers: 13p / 6r / 2s
Sage Riseden: 5p / 3r / 2a
Jacey Goodman: 5p
Calli Strunk: 2p / 6r / 6a
Kindell Gibson: 2p
Karlie Branscum: 3s / 2r
Participation Report: Shyann Byrd, Aimee Lewallen, Taylyn Swinson.
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Scott High surges in the fourth to defeat Halls
HUNTSVILLE | During the third quarter of Tuesday’s game at Highlander Gymnasium, it looked like Knox Halls’ frustrating man defense was going to be too much for Scott High to figure out, as the Red Devils built an 11-point lead in the waning seconds of that third period.
But then came the fourth quarter, and a complete turnaround for a Highlander team that roared back from a double-digit deficit to claim a 66-63 win and remain unbeaten on the season.
For first-year head coach Brent Ellis and his team, Halls offered the first real test of the season, as the Red Devils used a 23-point second quarter to surge in front and then began to pull away with a 21-point third quarter. Miles Comparato was spectacular in the first half, scoring 18 of his game-high 27 before the intermission to help his team build a 32-27 lead at the break.
The Highlanders had held a lead early, as Landon Goodman knocked down two 3-point shots and scored eight of his 16 points in the second quarter to put his team in front. But behind Comparato, the Red Devils surged back in front.
Jaigen Morgan helped keep things close in the third quarter, scoring eight points. Still, it looked like Halls was going to win a road game going away … until Scott High turned it around late.
First, the Highlanders trimmed the deficit to single digits going into the fourth quarter. Then they battled back to regain the lead, as Goodman knocked down another key 3-point shot, Morgan scored six more points, and Isaiah Washam hit six consecutive free throws. Washam had nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. Morgan finished with 16 and was named the IH Sports Network’s First National Bank Player of the Game. Wyatt Lloyd did not score in the fourth, but finished with 13 points and recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Lloyd was key early, scoring seven points in the first quarter as the Highlanders jumped out to a six-point lead in the opening stanza.
Only five players wound up in the scoring column for the Highlanders, but it was enough on a night when the team displayed the sort of resiliency that could prove key if Scott is able to make the district championship run it hopes to make. Landon Washam, the only non-senior in the starting lineup, pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds and was named the IHSN’s Trophy Masters Hustle Award winner.
Hustle Board
Jaigen Morgan: 16p / 6r / 3a
Landon Goodman: 16p / 3r
Isaiah Washam: 15p / 5r / 4a
Wyatt Lloyd: 13p / 10r / 3a / 2s
Landon Washam: 6p / 12r
Brennan Brumett: 3r
Participation Report; Devin Prewitt, Jacob Lowe.
Lady Indians roll to win over Oakdale
ONEIDA | Too much Larissa Jones. Too much Kendall Duncan. Too much Elli West.
That, in a nutshell, was Oakdale’s problem at OHS Gymnasium Tuesday evening, as the Lady Indians jumped to a 24-point halftime lead and rolled to a 74-46 win over the Eagles.
Larissa Jones had a team-high 21 points to lead the Lady Indians, while also pulling down six rebounds and recording four steals.
Kendall Duncan added 15 points to go along with four assists, and was named the IH Sports Network’s First National Bank Player of the Game. Jones was named the IHSN Trophy Masters Hustle Award winner.
Elli West scored 13 points, while adding five assists and four steals. Tynleigh Jeffers had a nice game off the bench, with a team-high seven rebounds to accompany eight points.
Oneida didn’t trail after the game’s opening stages, and led by nine points going into the second quarter. That’s where the Lady Indians essentially put the game away, going on a 25-10 run to build a 44-20 halftime lead. That lead ballooned to as much as 30 points early in the third quarter.
Oneida shot a sterling 65% from the field in the first half, including a remarkable six of seven from 3-point range. For the game, the Lady Indians were 56% from the field, including 61% from 3-point range and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line — the kind of shooting percentages that can win championships.
Hustle Board
Larissa Jones: 21p / 6r / 4s
Kendall Duncan: 15p / 2r / 4a / 2s
Elli West: 13p / 5a / 4s
Elizabeth Zachary: 8p
Tynleigh Jeffers: 8p / 7r
Zoie Terry: 3p
Lucy Sexton: 3p
Maddie Pike: 3p / 2r / 2a / 2s
Kamryn Stiltner: 8a / 2s
Jayden Gray: 2r
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That Scott High fourth quarter comeback sounds like it was fun to watch. Going down 11 and comming back to win by 3 takes some real grit. Interested to see how they handle tougher district tests as the seson goes on.