Boys, girls beat Opp Friday night; to play in area championship game

Straughn put on a clinic for much of Friday’s match up as the Tigers defeated Opp 68-43 in the Class 3A, Area 2 semifinals, earning a berth to the area championship

The Tigers had home court advantage, and it showed as they racked up a 56-20 lead heading into the fourth period. Straughn’s defense dominated the Bobcats in the first quarter, allowing only two points, and was almost as stingy in the second.

Leading 13-2 in the second, the Tigers tacked on 25 points to take a commanding 38-10 lead heading into halftime.

The third period was just as daunting for Opp as Straughn added 18 points, while allowing only 10 from the Bobcats.

Opp rallied in the final period, outscoring SHS 23-12. But the Bobcats’ last-ditch efforts weren’t enough to pull out the win, ending Opp’s season and advancing the Tigers to Monday’s championship match up with the Excel Panthers.

Leading the scoring for the Tigers was Rollin Kinsaul, who was 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, sank four shots from the perimeter and tacked on a 3-pointer, to end the game with 14 points.

JD Driver followed Kinsaul closely with 12 points of his own. Driver found the net twice from the perimeter and sank two 3-pointers, while going 2-for-2 from the line.

Tucker Lawless finished the game with nine points, while both JC Ray and Brennan Maddox ended with six each. Christian Myrick, Johnathon Driver, Austin Bozeman and Devin Scott each added four points, while Brice Scott finished with three.

For Opp, Orlando Lacey’s nine points led the offense, while Jaylon Wade followed with seven and Ty White tacked on six. JaKeith Edwards added five points for the Bobcats.

Opp finishes its season 9-20 after losing 11 straight to cap off the year.

The sixth-ranked Tigers (18-4) will meet Excel Monday night for the area championship after the Panthers knocked off Southside Selma 69-59 Friday afternoon. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

 

Straughn girls 36,

Opp girls 18

The Lady Tigers of Straughn extended their winning streak to 22 and earned the right to face Southside Selma for the Class 3, Area 2 championship with their 36-18 victory over Opp.

With the win, the Lady Tigers (24-1) will move on to face Southside Selma Monday at 6 p.m. at SHS. The Lady Panthers beat Excel 59-21.

Straughn and Opp both struggled to put up points in the first period, but the Lady Tigers led by a slim, 5-point margin heading into the second. Straughn doubled its lead before halftime, heading into the break up 16-6.

The Lady Tigers outscored Opp 11-6 in the third period, and 9-6 in the fourth.

Leading the charge for the Lady Tigers was Jacie Williamson with 14 points.

Katelyn Kinsaul hit four times from inside the perimeter to follow Williamson with eight points. Janelle Nurse and Brentley Armstrong scored six and five points, respectively, while Paige Taylor added two points. Emily Wood tacked on a point from the free throw line to round out the scoring for SHS.

Saquaya Lane led the Lady Bobcats’ with 13 points, hitting five shots from the perimeter and going 3-for-8 from the free-throw line. Tori Reisnour sank a 3-pointer and Asia Edwards added two points for Opp.