Jonesboro-Hodge made the last seven points of the game to rally for a 63-61 victory while the Lady Tigers won their third straight and second in two days by a 53-30 margin to give JHHS a sweep of homestanding Weston. Breaking a five-game losing streak, the Tigers improved to 3-13 on the year while Weston lost their second game in a row to fall to 7-12 this season. With their 6th victory in the last 7 games, Shan Jackson’s suddenly hot squad ran their record to 8-10, while the Lady Wolves, who have now lost to Saline and JHHS in back-to-back days, fell to 11-7. With the slew of victories, JHHS has now climbed to #16 in the Division IV power rankings after sitting at #29 just before the Christmas holidays.
JHHS 63 Weston 61 (boys): Down 61-56, Dylan Hayes, who scored a career high 16 points, sank 3 of his 9 free throws made in 12 attempts in the contest to tie the game, leading to a game-winning basket by King Campbell. It was all JHHS early on as the Tigers led 21-14 at the end of the first period and 34-26 at the half, only to see Weston drain four 3-pointers to win the third quarter by a 24-11 margin to go up 50-45 heading into the final frame. LaTrevious Burns and King added 12 points each, and Jaquan Qualls chipped in with 9. Tyson Burks added 7 points, Michael Malone finished with five, and Channing Gray added a basket for the Tigers, who shot a season-best 56% from the field. Eli Henderson and Brody Tidwell scored 14 apiece to lead Weston, while Aiden Faulkner chipped in with a career-best 10 points. Ty Henderson netted nine, Abram Toms scored 7, and both Jacolby Lowe and Cole Otwell finished with four points each. The physical contest saw both teams combine for 52 free throws, with JHHS making 11 of 22 and Weston hitting 17 of 30 charity shots.
JHHS 53 Weston 30 (girls) The tale of two teams heading in opposite directions saw the Lady Tigers have three players post double figures in points to win their third straight, while Weston fell for their third game in a row. In the contest that saw both teams struggle from the free-throw line to make only 15 of 45 charity shots combined, Sanaa Tatum of JHHS led both teams in scoring with 18 points. Freshman sensation Samone Mallard and Jalenya Jackson also came up big for the Lady Tigers with 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Neesha Johnson chipped in with 8 points. Jakhorielle Lard finished with four for JHHS. The Lady Wolves, who made only 9 of 53 shots (17%) and missed all ten of their 3-point attempts, were led by Rachel Bandy with 9 points. Teegan Hall scored 7, Gracie Gray finished with four, and Ada Claire Tidwell tallied three. Addison Faulkner, Carlyn Waters scored two points each, and Donnia Spence sank a free throw.
Monday Games
Jonesboro-Hodge split their games against Caldwell, with the girls winning 48-37 over the Division III opponent and the boys falling. Weston started what has turned out to be a hard early part of the week with both the girls and boys losing to Saline on the road.
JHHS 48 Caldwell 37 (girls) Neesha Johnson scored 9 of her 13 points made and Samone Mallard added 5 of the 14 points she scored in the first quarter to pace JHHS to a commanding 18-5 lead. Sanaa Tatum continued her torrid scoring pace since early December to lead the Lady Tigers with 16 points.
Saline 46 Weston 30 (girls) The Lady Bobcats scored the first 13 points of the third quarter to up their 22-14 halftime lead to a 37-18 advantage heading into the fourth quarter to improve their record to 10-11 on the year. Eight players scored for Weston but none reached double figures as Mallory Malone made the last six points of the contest to lead the Lady Wolves in scoring. Rachel Bandy and Carly Jo Griffin finished with five each. Ada Claire Tidwell and Kate Keiffer scored four points apiece, and Tessa Reeves tallied three points. Carlynn Waters made a basket, and Donnia Spence hit a free throw for Weston, who made only 9 of 49 shots (18%). No individual scoring for Saline was reported.
Caldwell 60 JHHS 54 (boys) The Tigers jumped out to a 19-16 first-quarter lead but managed only 17 points over the next two quarters, which allowed Caldwell, rated #13 in Division III, to rally and win the 9th game out of 11 played. King Campbell nailed four 3 pointers to pave the way to a team-leading 22 points. Dylan Hayes chipped in with 9 and Kodan Atkins added 8points. Channing Gray finished with five and Darion Gray scored four for the Tigers.
Saline 69 Weston 46 (boys) A 16-7 first quarter lead ballooned to a 32-18 advantage at the half for Saline who improved to 11-9 on the year and climb two games above the .500 mark for the first time since the first two games of the season. The difference was Saliine hitting a spectacular 27 of 41 shots for a 66% shooting percentage and the Bobcats outrebounding the Wolves by a 32- 16 margin. Abram Toms and Brody Tidwell led the Wolves in scoring with 10 points each followed by Eli Henderson scoring 8 and Malachi Harris chipping in with 6 points. Ty Henderson and Leyton Younse scored 3 points apiece while Dawson Griffin, Hunter Donaldson and Jacolby Lowe tallying two points each.
Quitman splits with Weston in Elementary Action
Quitman 42 Weston 7 (boys) Bentley Ponder scored 12 of his game hight 14 points in the first half to pace Quitman to a commanding 23-1 lead at the break on the way to the convincing victory that saddled Weston with a loss in their season opener. Clay Burton and Ja’Mikal Hall chipped in with 9 and 7 points respectively while Andrew Seymore added four points. Koplen Taylor, Jess Potts, Mason Tolar, and Sutton Vail all tallied two points apiece as well. No indivividual scoring totals were submitted for Weston.
Weston 24 Quitman 18 (girls) – The youthful Lady Wolves limited Quitman to just four points in both the first and second quarters while scoring 8 in each frame to jump out to a 16-8 halftime lead that stood up to give WES a victory in their season opener. Lily Tolar scored 16 of Quitman’s 18 points while Madilyn Spillman tallied two. No individual scoring was submitted by Weston.
