Bearcats claw at region competitors over weekend

Published 2:22 pm Wednesday, January 12, 2022

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The Bearcats Basketball team is making a comeback after a loss to the Monroe Tornadoes. They have since won two region games against TCC and Cairo, placing them 3rd in the region.

The Bearcats faced off against TCC on Friday night at TCC, winning 57-43.

The team started off strong, scoring 17 points, while holding TCC to a mere 7 points.

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Senior Ashton Parris led the quarter with six points, while Dontae Broadnax followed him up with four points.

KJ Cochran helped the team gain some points, making three of four free throws, while Ked Bryant nailed a 3-pointer. Dialan Beard added two points to the board, closing out the quarter.

Headed into the second quarter, the Bearcats held onto their lead, scoring 16 points, while the Yellow Jackets scored 10 points.

Parris led again with six points, while Zyrell Williams came in with five points, making a 3-pointer and two free throws.

Broadnax also made two free throws, while VJ Ervin made one.

Beard finished out the half with two last-minute points.

Coming out of halftime, the Bearcats were held to nine points, while the Yellow Jackets managed to score 12.

Parris led with four points, while Beard was able make a 3-pointer. Williams closed out the third quarter with two points.

The Bearcats finalized their win in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points.

Cochran and Beard both had 5 points, making three-pointers, along with a combination of other shots.

Cam Sanders and Ervin ended the game with two points, while Denzel Chappell added one last point from a free throw to the board.

Coach Jeff Page was proud of the win, especially considering two of their players were out. Most noticeably AJ Grant and Deyon “Smoke” Bouie. Grant was suffering from a knee injury, while Bouie was out of town, participating in the All-American Bowl.

“I’m proud of the guys,” he said. “We’ve just got to stay hungry and keep doing the little things.”

Following the win, the Bearcats then hosted the Cairo Syrupmakers on Saturday night at home, winning 66-58.

Both teams came out strong, with the Bearcats scoring 18 points, while the Syrupmakers scored 12.

Parris was on fire, leading with 8 points in the first quarter. Cochran followed him up with seven of his own, making the first 3-pointer of the night. Beard added another 3 points to the board to end the first quarter.

The Syrupmakers came up just short in the second quarter, trailing 25-33.

Bryant had five points for the Bearcats, while Parris had four and Williams, Cochran and Ervin had two.

Coming out of the half, the Syrupmakers outscored the Bearcats by one point. However, the Bearcats still led, 49-42.

Four fouls led to Cochran getting four points through free throws, before making a 3-pointer.

Bryant then made two 3-pointers of his own. Parris added two points to the total, while Broadnax added one after being fouled as well.

It all came down to the fourth quarter, where it was neck and neck.

Cochran was determined to get a win, scoring 8 points, making another 3-pointer and several other shots.

Bryant scored four points, two of which were free throws after being fouled twice. Broadnax was also fouled again, giving him another chance to score a point through a free throw.

Beard and Parris ended the game by adding two points each to the final score.

Page was proud of the team, but said he was concerned about how often the team would be way up, but then let the other team come right back and score on them. He hopes to eliminate this problem before facing off against the Dougherty County Trojans on Friday night at home.