Wilcox-Central’s long-range game shuts down Keith in blowout win

By George L. Jones

The Selma Times-Journal

CAMDEN – Normally, coaches don’t like their players settling for long-range shots.

But the Wilcox-Central Jaguars made it look easy Saturday night.

The Jags hit 10 long-range shots and beat Keith 78-41.

Alquan Mendenhall led the way with 23 points, and Trevell Coleman followed right behind with 18.

Wilcox never allowed the Bears to make it interesting, getting out to a 16-4 lead after the Jags ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run.

Keith’s Derrick James and Jonathon McGuire tried to carry the Bears in the second quarter, teaming up to cut into the Jaguars’ lead.

But Keith scored most of its points from the free-throw line and in the paint while Wilcox continued to light it up from beyond the arc.

James led Keith with 12 points.

Wilcox got out to a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter and extended its lead to 66-27.

Keith got ahead of Wilcox-Central early, lost the lead and then held on late to take a 43-37 win.

Shauntay Gooden and Anjelica Dukes double teamed to lead Keith with 13 points each.

With the game tied at 32, Dukes hit the go-ahead layup with 5:20 left to play. The Bears took things in hand from there ended the game on an 11-5 run.

Shayla Wilson led Wilcox with eight points.

The Bears never trailed Wilcox after the end of any quarter, but they allowed the Jaguars to come back from a deficit that was as big as 13 points.

Raneisha Moore sparked a 5-0 run with back-to-back baskets that tied the game at 32. From then on, Wilcox managed just three successful shots from the field.