Fayette County sweeps Sandy Creek, girls control region

By JACOB RENIE
Sandy Creek Class of 2013

The Fayette County Tigers soundly defeated the Sandy Creek Patriots in both the boys and girls match-ups last Friday. The girls won 60-49 and the boys won 65-50, with both games staying close for a half before the Tigers pulled away to complete their victories.

The girls game started off in Patriot favor with senior Safiya Martin winning the tip-off. The Lady Patriots took a 3-point lead in the first quarter which they extended to four points at the end of the first half. But when the second half got underway, the Tigers started rolling. In the third quarter the Tigers scored 22 points which doubled their first half score and put them well on their way to victory. Senior Aneesa Watson got hot and scored 12 points in the second half to add to her previous 10 from the first and she finished with 22 points on the night with three from outside the arc. Accompanying Watson was sophomore Kayla Smith who had 15 points total in the game (all from outside the lines). Smith couldn’t miss as she went 4/4, sinking in four 3-pointers in the second half to solidify the Tiger’s position on top.

For Sandy Creek, seniors Larice Walker and Courtney Street each had 11 points. The two also combined for five steals and 13 rebounds. The Patriots struggled shooting and even though they out bounded Fayette County 25-18; they couldn’t seem to get the ball in the hoop. The Lady Patriots only made four shots from outside the arc while the Tigers sunk in nine. Additionally, the Tigers were better from the free throw line going 11/14 while the Patriots shot 5/9.

The Sandy Creek boys started much the same as the girls: winning the tip off but nothing else. The game was close at the end of the first quarter as the Tigers only led by three points. But as time progressed they slowly increased their lead to nine before the end of the second quarter. If the Patriots had any hope of revival at the half, junior Clark Minnifield quickly stomped it down when, in the first couple minutes of the second half, he stole the ball three times in a row and laid it nicely off the back board each time for six quick points. The Tigers would eventually reach a lead as big as 18 points before coming back down to win by a 15 point deficit.

Three Tiger juniors, Kelvin King, Clark Minnifield, and CJ Johnson all finished scoring in the double digits with junior Chaz Berry coming just short with nine points. King, the point guard, led his team well throughout the night as he passed and dribbled all around Patriot defenders. He finished with 10 points. Minnifield had 13 points and four steals. Johnson, who had a spectacular night, spinning around defenders and making the hard shots, finished with 19 points, three from outside the arc. Junior Dante’ Sterling led the defense with seven rebounds and three blocks.

For the Patriots, Brandon Lindsey led with 19 points, five of his field goals were three pointers. Justin Sumpter and Dale Earhart combined for 12 rebounds. Unlike the girls, both teams had almost exactly the same amount of rebounds. But, unfortunately for the Patriots, the game was all too similar to the girls on free throw line as the Patriots were just 3/10 while the Tigers shot 12/19. In the end, the Tigers’ defense, not offense won the game.

“We’re a pressing team,” Fayette County head coach Andre Flynn said. “Once we start pressing, then we [get going].” The Tigers who struggled earlier with containing the outside shots made great adjustments and added a lot of pressure to the Patriots, forcing them inside where they missed on numerous scoring opportunities with bad shots. Afterwards, Flynn described his team’s performance, “I was very pleased [with how we played]. It was one of our best all-around games … We played in stretches. Got a couple there and occasionally did something amazing.”

Fayette County’s boys and girls followed with a sweep of Carrollton on Saturday. The boys won 62-30 and the girls won 51-38. The Lady Tigers (14-4) have won nine in a row and are ranked sixth in Class AAAA. They are also first in region 5-AAAA with Sandy Creek currently in second. The Fayette boys trail Shaw in region 5-AAAA, while Sandy Creek is seventh.