Split pair in week’s action
By Brian Bloom
Regional Manager
Elizabeth Williams works her way around a Bolton Defender Friday night in district basketball action. The youthful Panthers open at 1-0 in district play with the 56-48 victory.
Demarious Cason works the paint in basketball action against Bolton. Bartlett opened district play with a 63-55 win.
Bartlett turned the tables in the Battle of BHS Friday with a pair of victories over rival Bolton.
Four Panthers hit for double figures and Deangelo Hall led a balanced boys attack with 24 as the coach Anthony Smith’s team used a dominant fourth quarter in a 63-55 win.
Shondria Scruggs led three in double figures for coach Lynn Whitfield’s girls as they held on for their third win of the year 56-48 Friday.
Down by five at intermission, Bartlett’s boys turned up the defensive pressure and made the extra pass in garnering their sixth win in 16 outings.
“It’s a rivalry game and only one team showed up early,” boys basketball coach Anthony Smith. “We were down 42-29 when we called a time out and told them –we got to play,” Smith said. “We pulled it together after that and started sharing the ball – making the extra pass and we started talking on defense.”
Besides Hall’s 24, Bartlett got double-digit performances from Nathan Hoover (11), Eric McGill (11) and 10 points from Eric Waddell. Demarious Cason worked his wide body for five while AJ Jones chipped in a pair.
Chris Taylor led the Wildcats with 23 points while Trebor Jackson tipped in 17. Gerald Witherspoon added six with Harvey Anthony and Aavion Ferguson getting three apiece. Deaunte Houston added two in the loss.
Scruggs notched 16 while Kelsey Baker and Shuntavia Rodgers hit for 14 each as Bartlett held off Bolton. The Lady Panthers took a 28-20 lead at half and had a 42-31 cushion going into the final eight minutes. Bolton turned up the pressure late but could not overtake Bartlett
Stella Gill hit for eight in the win while Madison Carroll and Shelby Organ had three and one respectively.
Charity Savage led all scorers with 22 on the evening while Kayla Bolden added 10. Samaria Grandberry and Destiny Arnold added six each while Jaelyn Jones and Kerrice Watson had a bucket apiece.
Friday’s wins helped erase a pair of Tuesday night blow-out losses.
Bartlett’s boys unraveled in the second half in falling 52-39 against Munford while a poor second quarter buried the girls 56-24.
Leading 24-21 at the half, Bartlett could only muster five third period points as Munford won going away.
“We had trouble with their match-up zone defense and we didn’t make adjustments on the fly,” Smith said. “Offensively we rushed some shots and we didn’t make their defense work.”
Freshman point guard Nathan Hoover and forward Eric Waddell were the only Panthers in double figures with 10 and 12 respectively. Josh Hall, Desmond Howard and Eric McGill tossed in four each while Ryan Miller and Deangelo Hall had three and two and the night.
Bartlett’s girls stayed in what’s becoming form with a strong first quarter performance followed by a disappointing second.
Trailing only by four at the end of one period of play, Bartlett could only muster two points in the next eight minutes as Munford rolled.
Shuntavia Rodgers and Shondria Scruggs led Bartlett with eight and six while Chelsey Baker and Elizabeth Williams had three each. Kelsey Baker and Stella Gill rounded out the scoring with a bucket apiece.
Robneisha Lee led three Munford players in double figures with 22. Kierra Richardson and Shaliyah Wiggins hit for 13 and 12 on the night.
