MBB: Roughriders shut down 'Cats, 53-34
during Tuesday nighit's game in Roughrider Gymnasium. (Photo by
Ray Jackson)
CENTER, Tx -- The Center Roughriders took the court here in Roughrider Gymnasium Tuesday night looking to bounce back from Friday night's defeat at the hands of the Jasper Bulldogs, the team's second District 18-3A loss of the season.
Mission accomplished.
The 'Riders (8-16) used a tenacious man-to-man defense against Kirbyville and shut out the Wildcats in the first period, and then held them scoreless until the 5:45 mark in the second period en route to an impressive 53-34 victory.
With things under control on the defensive end of the court after the first 10 minutes of the contest, Cameron Cloudy and Jamarcus Suell warmed up their long-range shooting to bury five 3-pointers in the first half to help the 'Riders to a 27-11 halftime lead.
Cloudy had 13 points on his own in the first half, compared to 11 for the Kirbyville team. After the break, the 'Riders were content to coast, matching their guests basket-for-basket to take a 37-22 lead at the end of the third period.
They then outscored the 'Cats 16-12 in the final quarter.
The victory kept the 'Riders 1.5 games behind league front-runner Jasper, which is now 5-1 on the season. Huntington is one-half game back at 4-1, while Hudson, Central and the 'Riders are all tied for third place with identical 3-2 marks. Kirbyville and Diboll both sit at 0-5 in 18-3A action.
In other District 18-3A results Tuesday include Jasper topping Diboll, 66-43, and Huntington outscoring Hudson, 66-54.
Friday's schedule has the Roughriders traveling to Hudson, Central hosting Huntington and Kirbyville going to Jasper.
Roughrider head coach Hiram Harrison had a lot to be happy about after his team's performance against Kirbyville.
"We came out playing really good, aggressive defense and shut them out in the first quarter," Harrison said after the game. "Then we buried some threes to stretch things out and force them out of their zone defense. That allowed us to get the ball inside and score some easy baskets.
"Then we were able to kind of put it on 'cruise control' in the second half."
Harrison added that he was happy about the complete team effort by his ballclub.
"We really moved the ball around well," the coach stated. "We only had one kid (Cloudy) in double figures, but we had five others get at least six. That shows we're a complete team. You have to defense all of us."
Cloudy led all scorers with seventeen points, followed by Jamarcus Jones with eight. Tony McCollister, Jamarcus Suell, Jakiel Johnson, and Darron Bolton all scored six apiece.
The tip-off Friday at Hudson will begin with the junior varsity boys at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls at 6:15 p.m. and the varsity boys after the girls' game.