Athens girls win season opener

Published 4:04 pm Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Athens used a big second quarter to pull away from Buckhorn and then held off an attempted comeback in a 44-36 victory in the Golden Eagles’ season opener Saturday.

Athens trailed 9-6 at the end of the first quarter, but outscored Buckhorn 21-8 in the second period to take a 27-17 lead into halftime.

Buckhorn closed to within three points at the end of the third quarter, but Athens outscored the Bucks 12-7 in the final period to take the victory.

Kendra Smith led Athens with 12 points, while Nahriyah Timmons had 10 points, five assists and four steals. Gabby Kirby also had eight points and six rebounds for the Golden Eagles.

Red Bay 48, Elkmont 39

Elkmont had a six-point lead at halftime, but were outscored 34-19 in the second half of a nine-point loss to Red Bay Saturday.

Freshman Morgan Morris led the Red Devils with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Emeril Hand had six points to go with 10 rebounds.

Maggie Gant also had double-digit rebounds, grabbing 11 while also scoring five points.

Boys

West Limestone 75, Lawrence County 58

West Limestone buried Lawrence County under an avalanche of 3-pointers in the first game of the Marx Optical Thanksgiving Tournament at Priceville Saturday.

The Wildcats hit 12 3-point shots in just the first half to take control of the game and cruised to victory in the second half.

Christian Clemmons led the way with 23 points, while Camryn Williams added 15 and and Braden Tuten chipped in with 13.

Sabatian Terry led Lawrence County with 22 points while Malik Strickland added 20 points for the Red Devils.

Tanner 60, Priceville 57

Tanner moved to 2-0 on the season with a three-point win over Priceville Saturday in the Marx Optical Thanksgiving Tournament.

J.J. Jones scored 20 points to lead the Rattlers, while Malik Atkins and Nathan Montgomery both scored 11.

Trey Summers led Priceville with 15 points, while Tyon Jones scored 13 points and Chris Thomas added 12.

Friday’s games

Boys

Tanner 44, Elkmont 38

Tanner opened its season with a close win over Elkmont Friday night. The game was tied 30-30 after three quarters, but the Rattlers outscored the Red Devils 14-8 in the final quarter to pull away for the victory.

Nathan Montgomery led Tanner with 12 points, while B.J. Lucas had 10 points and J.J. Jones added nine. Elkmont was led by Davis Hobbs with 10 points. Layton Smith added nine and Brett Parker chipped in with eight.

West Limestone 43, Ardmore 31

West Limestone went on a run in the third quarter to pull away and take a 12-point win over Ardmore.

The Wildcats led just 19-17 at halftime, but outscored the Tigers 20-7 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

River Held led West Limestone with 12 points, while Braden Tuten scored 11. Ardmore was led by Taylor Creekmore with seven points.

Girls

Tanner 47, Elkmont 44

Tanner held off a second-half comeback attempt by Elkmont to take a three-point win in its season opener Friday.

The Rattlers led 26-13 at halftime, but had to hang on in the second half as the Red Devils made a spirited comeback.

Haley Benford led Tanner with 10 points, while Jayla Walton had nine points and seven rebounds. Faith Franklin had 15 rebounds for the Rattlers.

Elkmont was led by Maggie Gant and Haven Kirby, who both had 12 points. Kayla Menefee added nine.