Winnsboro too much for Alba-Golden; New Diana gets away in tournament

By Sam Major
photos@wood.cm
Posted 12/16/21

Blink, and you may have missed the first three buckets scored in a flurry by the visiting Winnsboro Red Raiders in a mere 34 seconds on the Alba-Golden Panthers last Tuesday.

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Winnsboro too much for Alba-Golden; New Diana gets away in tournament

Posted

Blink, and you may have missed the first three buckets scored in a flurry by the visiting Winnsboro Red Raiders in a mere 34 seconds on the Alba-Golden Panthers last Tuesday.

From the tip, the Raiders used their athleticism to overwhelm Alba-Golden at every opportunity, especially with defensive pressure and trapping, forcing 28 turnovers. The Panthers improved their press break as the game went on, but never cracked the code to scoring on it.

Winnsboro trounced Alba-Golden 82-38.

After five minutes and 23 seconds the Raiders had scored 13, when the Panthers got on the scoreboard with a three by Brayden Randolph, who scored all six first-quarter points.

Blake Weissert joined the scoring in the second quarter, adding seven to the tally. He started the second half quickly, with five points in the first 15 seconds.

Then Winnsboro woke up and went on a tear, scoring the next 15 points and snuffing out a brief glimmer of Panther hope.

Weissert finished with 16 points, Randolph had 12, Braylon Moffett added six, Luke Morrison hit a three and Gavin Parker scored two.

Alba-Golden faced a similar predicament Friday, allowing the New Diana Eagles to make four wide-open three-pointers and score the first 14 points of their tournament matchup in Big Sandy. This time the Panthers clawed back into the game.

Threes hit by Randolph and Morrison jump-started scoring, but the Eagles stalled for nearly a minute, then tacked on two points to conclude the period up 16-6.

With a 9-0 run in the second quarter, including two threes by Randolph, the Panthers were able to pull within four points by halftime.

After the break, the Eagles pushed the margin to eight before Alba-Golden could rein them in. The Panthers then went on a 10-0 streak fueled by three-pointers by Morrison and Weissert to take a 30-28 lead with 1:30 left in the third.

After hitting no threes in the third, New Diana made two timely deep balls to push back in front by one.

A couple of untimely turnovers squelched the Alba-Golden opportunity. The Eagles were able to play keep-away and make a few free throws to secure the win.

Randolph led scoring with 13; Weissert had 11 points, all in the second half; Morrison had five per half for 10; Gavin Dailey contributed five and Jaden Barnhart made a free throw.

The Panthers must simply find a way to get out of the locker room and onto the scoreboard more quickly. They could be a nuisance in district play come January, especially if Randolph and several shooters should fire fearlessly from downtown. Meanwhile, Weissert and Dailey have demonstrated an ability at times to will themselves to the basket. For now, Alba-Golden is beginning to show an unwillingness to give up on any contest.

The Panthers pummeled Bloomberg 67-28 at the Big Sandy tournament on Saturday.

They faced Life School at home on Tuesday and are slated to host Pittsburg at 11:15 a.m. Monday.