Yantis teams start strong at Bland Tourney

Posted 11/23/16

The Yantis Owls basketball teams opened their respective seasons with close games last week and competed in the Bland Invitational Basketball Tournament in Merit.

BOYS

The Yantis Owls began …

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Yantis teams start strong at Bland Tourney

Posted

The Yantis Owls basketball teams opened their respective seasons with close games last week and competed in the Bland Invitational Basketball Tournament in Merit.

BOYS

The Yantis Owls began the week with a close 53-51 victory over the Romeo Young Men’s Innovation Prep Academy Blue Knights last Tuesday at home in their season opener.

The Blue Knights started fast and had a 14-10 lead after the first period but Yantis battled back to take a 2-point lead into halftime 24-22. Both teams matched points in the third and fourth periods and the 2-point margin at half would ultimately decide the game.

Junior Bradley Potts led the Owls in scoring with 14 points followed by junior Jayden Modrall with 11 points and sophomores Bobby Petree and J.C. Nolen with 10 points each. Senior Marshall Anderson and junior Tucker Hathcoat each had four points to finish the scoring for Yantis.

Starting Thursday, the Owls competed in the Bland tournament and came away with 53-35 victory over the Sulphur Bluff Bears. Yantis trailed 13-10 after the first period but fought their way back to lead by two at halftime. The defense shut down the Bears in the third period and the Owls went on a 14-2 run to lead 39-25 going into the final period. The Owls held firm, outscoring the Bears 14-10 in the period, and grabbed the first-round victory.

The Owls advanced to play tournament host Bland on Friday but fell to the Tigers 53-34. Yantis started the game fast and raced out to a 16-9 lead after the first period but the Bears went on 14-6 in the second period to lead by one point at the half. Bland smothered the Owls on a 15-2 run in the third period and Yantis was unable to rally back in the final period.

Yantis defeated Celeste Blue Devils 63-57 on Saturday to finish the tournament with a 2-1 record. The Owls found themselves down by four points after the first period but surged back to take a 34-31 lead into halftime. Yantis kept pace in the second half and the Blue Devils were unable to overcome the deficit being outscored 29-26 in the final stanzas.

The Owls (3-1) traveled to face the Boles Hornets Tuesday, after Monitor press time.

GIRLS

Yantis began the season with a 55-32 loss to the McLeod Lady Longhorns (1-0) on Nov. 8. The Lady Longhorns grabbed the lead fast and raced out to a 30-16 lead at halftime. McLeod continued to pour it on in the second half, outscoring Yantis 25-16 and securing the victory.

The Lady Owls fought hard against a strong 2A team in McLeod and it served them well when they faced another 2A team in the Clarksville Lady Tigers (1-1) last Tuesday. Yantis came up shy by two points but the close 40-38 loss shows that the Lady Owls are getting better in the young season.

Clarksville jumped out to a quick 18-6 at the end of the first period and took a 27-14 lead into halftime. The second half belonged to the Lady Owls as they closed the gap to seven points on a 12-6 run in the third period. Yantis managed to take a 12-7 run down to the wire in the fourth period but came up just short against the Lady Tigers.

Sophomore Montana Wetzel led the scoring charge against the Lady Tigers with 21 points. Fellow sophomore Ashten Burnett finished with six points and senior Bayley Bush had 4 points. Sophomore Maggie Hooker had five points with her sister Maddie adding two points.

The Lady Owls also took a trip to compete in the Bland Tournament but met the hosts in the first round and fell to the Bland Lady Tigers 53-45. The first period was back-and-forth with the Lady Tigers leading 7-6 after the first period but pulled ahead in the second period to lead 31-25 at halftime. Both teams matched points in the third period but Bland managed to keep ahead of the Lady Owls in the fourth period and took the win.

Yantis faced the North Hopkins Lady Panthers Friday and bounced back from their opening round loss to defeat the Lady Panthers 60-29. Yantis opened with a 12-2 run in the first period and finished the half leading 30-17. The Lady Owls continued their dominance and outscored North Hopkins 30-12 in the second half.

Yantis picked up a 46-27 win over the Como-Pickton Lady Eagles on Saturday and finished the Bland tournament like the boys team with a 2-1 record. The Lady Eagles led by two points after the first period but a Yantis 17-1 run in the second period gave the Lady Owls a 22-8 halftime lead. Yantis continued to exert their will on the Lady Eagles and outscored Como-Pickton 24-19 in the second half to clinch the victory.

The Lady Owls (2-3) also traveled to Boles on Tuesday to face off against the Lady Hornets.