Coming back to competition for the first time in nearly three weeks, the Bryant White Hornets eighth grade team of Bryant Middle School had the unenviable task of taking on a tough Conway White squad on Monday, Jan. 6. The Wampus Cats used a withering press to push out to a 23-3 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a 60-27 win.
Bryant White, however, got back on track the next evening back at home, riding a strong first half to a 46-31 win over Lighthouse Charter of Jacksonville.
The results put the Hornets’ record at 5-3 going into a showdown at Bethel Middle School on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
In the win over Lighthouse, Bryant White led 10-4 after a quarter and 24-8 by halftime. It was 36-20 going into the final period.
Kaevon Jones led the Hornets with 11 points. Brooks Ellis added 8 with Grayson Prince and Brandon Hopkins finishing with 6 each.
“We followed up our worst performance of the year with probably our best performance,” stated Hornets coach Heath Long. “Offensively, we did a really good job of moving the ball, which caused opportunities for baskets to open up.
“We were also solid defensively,” he continued, “making it tough for them to score. I’m proud of the guys for bouncing back the way they did.”
At Conway, Brandon Murray paced the Hornets with 6 points. Tristan Calhoun added 5 with Hill, Ja’Kalon Pittman and Jones scoring 4 apiece.
The Wampus Cats led 42-15 at the half.
“We just didn’t play well at all,” Long stated. “A lot of that has to do with Conway White, because they are a very good basketball team. We struggled badly with their pressure, which is something that we will have to improve upon when we play them again.”
That will be on Jan. 28 at BMS.
