HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Bringing home the district title Athens spoils Senior Night in Canton with 77-60 win on Friday Joe Elerson The Athens Review CANTON — The Athens Hornets wrapped up the District 15-3A title with a 77-60 win over the Canton Eagles on Senior Night in Canton. With the win, the No. 10-ranked Hornets are now 26-1 overall and 9-0 in district play heading into tonight’s finale at Van. “I know they (Van) have played people very tough and they are a scrappy team,” assistant coach Jarrett Hill said. “They will line up in a 2-3 zone against us and make us work. We have to go in prepared and try and finish our season on a high note.” Canton (12-14, 6-3) gave Athens their best effort in the first 16 minutes of play Friday night. The Eagles jumped out to their biggest lead at, 17-8, with 3:07 remaining in the first quarter when Kelby Nixon found Brad Wiggins for the easy layup. Athens was forced to call a timeout and then the Hornets went on one of their patented runs. With six minutes remaining in the first half, senior Ryan Jefferson — who finished with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds — tied the game at 20 with a strong putback. He then gave Athens its first lead of the game with a layup on the next possession. AHS then went on a 14-10 run the remainder of the half for a 34-30 lead at the break. “We feel like we have a target on our backs so we expect everybody to give us their best,” Hill said. “Once we take their best hit, we find a way to start playing better.” Hill said he knew Canton would play strong at home and the halftime talk helped the kids adjust to the pressure. “It was more of tweaking some assignments and making some adjustments where they were hurting us,” Hill said. “We made the adjustments and told them what we needed to do and they took it from there.” In the second half of play, the Hornets outscored Canton, 43-30. AHS started to put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter as senior Anthony Sanders — who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds — picked up a rebound and put up an acrobatic shot past a Canton defender for the 46-35 lead. With their strong half-court press, the Hornets were able to outscore Canton, 22-12 in the third quarter for the 56-42 lead. Courtland Lyons rounded out the double figure scorers for Athens with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Hill said with one more game before the start of the Class 3A playoffs next Monday and Tuesday, they still have some areas to work on for a possible 27-1 regular season. “We have to play basketball and take care of the fundamentals,” Hill said. “We missed quite a few layups and we need to get better day in and day out.” No. 10 Athens 77, Canton 60 Athens 15 19 22 21 — 77 Canton 19 11 12 18 — 60 ATHENS — Ryan Jefferson, 27; Kynden Crist, 7; Anthony Sanders, 21; Courtland Lyons, 13; Josh Garrett, 4; Travon Fuller, 3; Chris Jefferson, 2. CANTON — Kelby Nixon, 19; Saxon Adams, 8; Ryan Slider, 5; Brad Wiggins, 15; Chase Sherlock, 2; Reese Frosch, 11. THREE POINT GOALS — A: R. Jefferson (2), Crist, Sanders (3). C: Adams (2), Slider, Frosch (3). RECORDS — Athens 26-1 (9-0). - See more at: athensreview/sports/x1708324491/HIGH-SCHOOL-BASKETBALL-Bringing-home-the-district-title#sthash.Vc43zJhF.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 19:19:06 +0000
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