BNI Newswire

DEMOPOLIS – The Demopolis Tigers realized a gallant effort Friday night, but fell short losing to the No. 3 ranked Wilcox-Central Jaguars 60-55.

Demopolis battled all the way in the area matchup. They would get within four, then Wilcox would pull away. The Tigers got as close as two in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t mount an attack to overcome the Jaguars.

The first quarter ended at 14-11 with the Jags up by three. Wilcox, who didn’t shoot well for most of the ball game, was able to pull to a 32-22 halftime lead.

Demopolis started the third quarter on a mission. They outscored Wilcox 10-5 in the first five minutes of the quarter to cut the score to 37-32. Back-to-back triples by Alquan Mendenhall would help the Jaguars to a double-digit lead. Wilcox would go up by 12 to end the third quarter.

Demopolis began the final quarter with a charge and got as close as two with five minutes left in the game. The Jaguars would widen the gap and held on to record its 18th win of the year against one loss.

Brian Taylor led all scorers with 20 points for Demopolis. Casey Canty added 15 points. Cortez Irby topped the Jaguars with 18 points.

When the offense fails to be consistent, you must rely on the defense.

That’s exactly what the Demopolis Lady Tigers had to do last night on its way to defeating the Wilcox Lady Jaguars, 62-44 in an area contest.

“I was pleased with our defense through out the process of the game,” said Demopolis coach Tony Pittman. “Defensively we have stayed steady.”

Wilcox-Central, who came into the game ranked ninth in the state, found themselves down 12-2 late in first quarter, following Demopolis’ early spurt that included five straight points from Jasmine Hardy.

The Lady Jaguars would go on an 11-1 run the last three minutes of the quarter to tie the game at 13 by the end of the quarter.

The Lady Tiger defense added more intensity in the second quarter, creating turnovers by Wilcox. They mounted a 24-15 lead with 3:53 left in the half. Demopolis led 25-15 at the half, holding the Lady Jaguars to just one field goal in the quarter. The Lady Tigers got Wilcox Central in foul trouble early, but couldn’t convert on its free throw opportunities, hitting just seven out of 25 attempts. “We worked ourselves into a slump at the start of the second quarter,” Pittman said. “We were missing layups and free throws.”

Hardy got things early in the third quarter for the Lady Tigers, by getting inside for to field goals. Demopolis would go up by 12 twice in the quarter, but the Lady Jaguars would come back to cut its deficit to single digits. The third quarter ended with a 38-31 score.

A Jasmine Simmons three-pointer would give the Lady Tigers a double-digit lead midway through the final quarter. They would build a 56-36 score with less than three minutes left to all but put the game away.

“We were able to turn it on in the fourth quarter to seal the victory,” said Pittman.

Simmons grabbed scoring honors for the game, netting 17 points. Hardy recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Loreal Moore contributed 11 points off the bench. Demopolis improve its overall record to 11-2. They remain unbeaten in area play.

The Lady Jaguars, who fall to 10-5, were led by Raneisha Moorer’s 11 points.