No matter if it’s the Selma gym, the Keith gym or the Wallace Community College-Selma gym, the Keith Bears have proven to be better than the Selma Saints this season.

Keith won its third game against Selma to win the Dallas County Classic Christmas tournament at Wallace Tuesday 48-34. John Pettway was named the most valuable player of the tournament, as he led all scorers for a second consecutive night with 24 points.

“They showed character and poise in my team that we can finish down the stretch even down a little adversity,” said Keith head coach Tommy Tisdale.

Both teams started slow offensively, as Selma was only able to put up five points in the first quarter. Keith found its rhythm near the end of the period, going up 12-5 at the end of the first quarter.

The Saints spread the ball around the second quarter, as seven different players scored for Selma in the quarter. Unfortunately for the Saints, all those players only scored once, and Selma was unable to make up any ground in the second quarter.

Keith led 27-20 at halftime.

While Selma gave multiple players the opportunity to score, Pettway took the game into his own hands.

Following a low-scoring third quarter in which both teams only mustered eight points, Pettway scored nine in just the fourth quarter alone. He was the only player to hit a field goal in the entire fourth quarter, giving Keith another comfortable victory over the Saints.

Tisdale said Keith wasn’t in need of any extra motivation in order to beat Selma a third time. He said his team is ready to win no matter who they play, and that this game was just a step toward winning the championship that really matters.

“At Keith, you should be excited to put a jersey on regardless of who you’re playing or where you’re playing them at,” Tisdale said.

 

Kieth 40, Selma 37

Keith’s Harriet Winchester made eight free throws and Zykia Pettway scored 19 points as the Bears were able to knock off the only team that has found a way to beat them this season.

Keith hung on late in a 40-37 win over the Selma Saints to win the Dallas County Classic Christmas tournament Tuesday. Despite late foul trouble, Keith was able to find a way to secure a victory against a Selma team that has beaten everyone but Keith this season.

“I feel like we played tough through the fourth quarter in foul trouble, and that proved a lot about their character and their determination to win,” said Keith head coach Cecil Williams.

Trailing 7-5 early, Ambreya Snow tied the game for the Bears with a fastbreak layup. In the second quarter, Winchester took nine foul shots and drained six of them.

Jacquetta Dailey kept the Saints in it the whole way through, leading the game with 21 points.

Ultimately, Pettway’s six fourth-quarter points made the difference, as the Keith girls joined the Keith boys in sweeping giving the Bears a sweep of the Dallas County Classic.

The biggest part that helped us out tonight was we did a lot more rebounding on both ends. That really helped us. They didn’t get a lot of second chance shots, and I’m really proud of them for that,” Williams said.