West Lincoln sweeps Loyd Star in Lin. Co. Tourney

Published 6:00 am Friday, December 7, 2007

The host West Lincoln Bears handed the Loyd Star Hornets a pairof losses Thursday night in the opening round of the Lincoln CountyRound-Robin Tournament at Jack Case Gymnasium.

Jamie Byrd’s 19 points sparked the Bears to a 68-62 win over theHornets.

In girls action, Tatianna Marshall fired in 12 points to leadWest Lincoln to a 54-44 victory over Loyd Star.

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Today’s tournament games feature the Enterprise girls and boysagainst Loyd Star at 4 p.m. and 5:30. At 7 and 8:30, West Lincolnhosts Bogue Chitto.

West Lincoln 68, Loyd Star 62

The Loyd Star boys took a 15-7 lead over West Lincoln in thefirst quarter. The Bears cut the deficit to 35-29 at the half.Third-quarter action saw West Lincoln explode for a 21-9 run onLoyd Star to carry a 50-44 edge into the final frame.

“We shot the ball extremely well from the outside tonight,” saidWest Lincoln coach Lane Young. “We wanted it more than them at theend. We played aggressive defense in the second half to force theturnovers.”

The Bears (5-3) got added support from Aaron Collins with 16points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Jamie Richardson finished with 13points and 4 steals. Collecting 8 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, and 8points was Jeremy Byrd.

“We played good in the first half,” said Loyd Star boys coachGene (Moochie) Britt. “We played sloppy in the second half. We hadtoo many turnovers, missed easy shots and missed free throws. WestLincoln made the plays and shots to win. We did not play goodenough to win. We couldn’t put West Lincoln away when we had thechance.”

The Hornets (6-2) were led by Ricky Barnes with a game-high 25points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Ashton Fox and McKinleyHamilton netted 11 points apiece. Following with 10 points and 8rebounds was Ron Jones. Hamilton had 5 assists and blocked 3shots.

West Lincoln 54, Loyd Star 44

The Bears (4-4) trailed the Hornets 32-30 at the end of thethird quarter before exploding for a 24-12 run to claim thewin.

The Hornets (6-2) led 11-8 in the first quarter, tied the Bears21-21 at halftime time and led 32-30 at the end of the thirdquarter.

“We played our half-court defense well in the second half,” saidYoung. “We shot the ball well from the outside. Loyd Star missed alot of shots they normally make.”

Scoring 11 points each for West Lincoln were Hannah Knouse andKeri Easley. Following with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals wasJulie Case. Talashia Fells netted 9 points and led off thebackboards with 10 rebounds.

“West Lincoln outplayed us,” said Loyd Star girls coach BillyVaughn. “They were able to run their game. We missed a lot of easyshots. Hopefully, we can learn from this loss.”

Dakota Brooks directed Loyd Start with 20 point, 10 rebounds and4 steals. Netting 12 points was Shannon Chester. Laura Britt scored7 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and made 6 steals.