The Hornets bring a little less sting

By JAYSON KNIGHT

The Stuart Hornets played a home game against the Weleetka Lions Saturday. The Lady Hornets played the Weleetka Lady Lions first though in a game where the Lady Hornets came out a little flat, but staged a second half comeback attempt that left them a little shy of the victory, 36-29.

The Hornets won out to improve their record to 20-2 on the season with a final score against Weleetka’s Lions, 59-52.

The Hornets were coming off a 76-54 loss to Roff, the number one team in the state in their class. Stuart’s boys were able to get back on a winning track against the Lions thanks to outstanding play from the Stuart guards.

Turner Brewer, Zach Medley, Jimmy Roberts, and Dylan Jones were the saving grace of the Hornets as they fought to bounce back from a loss and improve their record. The guards in that game were good for 48 of the Hornets’ 59 points.

The game started with senior Jimmy Roberts hitting a baseline jumpshot. Weleetka answered with two, but Roberts hit the Lions with a three to give the Hornets a 5-2 start.

Zach Medley was the next guard to score for Stuart when he made his way through the Weleetka defense for a one-handed bumper off the glass. Caleb Smith hit for Weleetka with some short jumpers in the first quarter. He was Weleetka’s high scorer and good for 14 of the Lions’ 52 points for the game. Weleetka had three scorers with more than 10 points each. A rare feat against a Stuart defense that usually bullies up on the kind of drives and rebounds the Lions were getting away with. Weleetka’s team played to win and almost survived the Hornet guards’ proficiency, but despite lackluster post play, they still felt the sting.

The post player of the night was Zack Mabray who contributed by drawing fouls and hitting most of his free throws. He also had to out hustle bigger forwards from Weleetka to grip rebounds and rip possessions away under the basket. He was also good for a few blocks that the Stuart faithful are used to seeing from their older, more experienced post players.

The Hornets shot well in all phases. Medley nailed a jumper from the corner of the box to give the Hornets a 9-4 lead in the first quarter. Roberts rained another three, Medley hit another three shortly after. Addison Self went up strong against a Weleetka defender for two points thanks to a clever bounce pass by Jones.

In the first two-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter, the only scores were three free throws until Weleetka showed persistence in getting the ball in the goal despite a block by the younger Mabray brother, Zack.

Brewer scored all of his points in the middle two quarters and was especially on fire in the third when he drained three threes for a trifecta of treys.

Stuart continued to lose way more battles under the goal than usual, but Roberts and Brewer gave the Hornets the range they needed and Medley made his way to the basket with drives like always. Roberts was clutch, shooting perfectly from the free throw line in the fourth. He also chimed in with another three in the fourth and the Hornets pulled it out, 59-52 in the least convincing home win the Hornets have played all season.

The closest game they’ve played at home before now was against their Pitt 8 rival, the Savanna Bulldogs. Winning by 14 then, the Hornets must wonder why they can blow out 2A teams and the rest of their competition with relative ease and then have to dodge a loss to an unranked Weleetka team with a losing record.

Credit to the Lions for staying in it and showing fight throughout. The Lions played as a team and that’s why they almost unseated one of the top-dogs in Class A basketball.

“We played absolutely flat down low,” said Head Coach Trent Tidwell of the Hornets. “We have a couple guys that need to block out, they need to rebound, and they need to show a little hustle. Our guards’ game stepped up tonight and had to overcome the play of our posts.”

Also for local Pitt 8 basketball on Saturday, Indianola hosted Keota’s teams. The Warriorettes dropped a game to the (17-3) Lady Lions. The final score in that game was 70-46. Scorers were Allee Mabray with nine points, Casey Griffith with six points, Liz Folsom with four points, Kelsey Eller with two points and a free throw from Whitney Mace.

Whitney Barnes was on fire as usual hitting four threes and racking up 24 points. What wasn’t so normal was that she wasn’t the game’s high scorer. Keota’s Falecia Woods managed to edge Barnes out in this one with 25 points. The Keota guard went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe and was supported well by Brii Ryburn down low.

The Indianola Warriorettes play next Tuesday at home against the Crowder Demonettes. The Demonettes are coming off a loss of their own to one of the top teams in Class 2A, the Oktaha Lady Tigers. See both of these schools as their talented teams try to bounce back from recent losses and sharpen their skills before the playoffs begin. For fans of our local Pitt 8, see the last matchup between the Pitt 8’s top two guards, Indi’s Barnes and Crowder’s Alex Tucker. Both seniors will want this one.

Text Only