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Straughn stymied Pleasant Home and ran away from its county foe with two lopsided wins at home in a basketball doubleheader on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Lady Tigers 41
Lady Eagles 15

Straughn had eight different players score on offense and put up a strong effort on defense for a 41-15 win in the varsity girls’ contest.

Both sides struggled in the first period and could not score. Ora Hall hit a jumper at the 4:14 mark and then followed with a layup. Bryleigh McBride upped the margin to 6-0 on a basket. The Lady Eagles broke through on the scoreboard with 2:35 to go in the frame when Hailey Ward scored. Pressley Kelley also made a bucket and brought the Lady Eagles within two at 6-4. Hall added her third basket, and the Lady Tigers took an 8-4 lead after one.

Ward trimmed the deficit to 8-6 with an early basket in the second. Allyx Williamson responded with a drive to the hoop. Kelley kept the action close with a field goal at the 6:22 mark, but Pleasant Home was unable to score again in the first half. Maddie Williamson got an offensive rebound and made a shot that began a 12-0 run. Hall knocked down another jumper and then swished back-to-back threes. Aubrey Pittman went off the glass for the final two points of the frame, and Straughn led 22-8 at halftime.

The offenses cooled down after the break and only managed a combined eight points in the third. The Williamson sisters accounted for all six of the Lady Tigers’ points as the score stood at 28-8. The Lady Eagles did not have a field goal and nearly went the entire period without any points. Briley Douglas made two free throws with 27.2 seconds left for a 28-10 score after three.

Douglas went three-of-four at the line in the final period. A. Williamson banked a shot off the glass with 3:12 to go and widened the lead to 32-13. Tori Canant then went nothing but net on a long three, and Hall delivered another layup. Chloe Bush found the hoop for Pleasant Home’s only two points of the frame. Kadyn Johnson and Kinsley Short also found the scoring column down the stretch for Straughn.

Hall was the top scorer for the Lady Tigers (12-6) with 16 points. A. Williamson followed with 12, and M. Williamson chipped in four.

Douglas led the Lady Eagles (6-9) with five points as Ward and Kelley each notched four.

“We started off really slow in the first half on offense and couldn’t hit our shots to get the momentum going. At halftime, we adjusted our offense and came out playing a lot better in the second half. We executed our offense, which allowed us better shot selections. Pleasant Home had some really quick players that did a great job handling the ball and challenged us a good bit on defense. Coach (Tony) Wilson does a great job with his players, and I wish him the best on the rest of his season,” SHS Head Coach Calen Lowery said.

Tigers 67
Eagles 46

The Tigers built an early lead and made it stand the rest of the way for a 67-46 win over the Eagles in the varsity boys’ game.

Joseph Driver opened the scoring with a three as Brody Bryan answered back with a bucket. Parker Black followed with a layup that began a 12-0 Straughn surge. Kaden Wiggins and Taylor Sikes blitzed the net for consecutive threes, while Driver pushed Straughn out to a 15-2 lead. Bryan added four free throws before Clark Jordan got an offensive rebound and took the score to 17-6. Jackson Hawkins used a three, and John Luke Colvin made two from the line to draw Pleasant Home back within six at 17-11 after one.

The tale of the tape in the second period was the three-pointer when both teams combined for 35 points off seven long-distance shots. The Tigers started the frame on a 7-2 run and pushed their advantage to double digits. Wiggins buried a three for a 24-13 margin with 6:16 left in the first half. Wiggins and Colvin traded the next three baskets – all from beyond the arc – and brought the score to 27-19. Driver and Hawkins also went back-to-back possessions with threes in the frame. Layne Grantham came up with a drive to the goal, and Sikes made a basket for a 36-22 lead. Shawn Thomas Stockton scored the final three, and Hawkins scored a bucket as the Eagles once again tightened the action to 36-27 at halftime.

Straughn came out of the break with a strong third period on offense and defense. Jordan was the leading scorer with six points in the frame and went four-of-four from the line. Wiggins notched his fourth three for a 43-27 lead with five minutes left in the frame. Vance Kelley converted a three-point play and scored the only five points by Pleasant Home. Black went off the glass for two and took the lead to 51-32 after three.

The offenses returned to form in the final period and accounted for 30 combined points. Hunter Butts sparked the home bench with two threes as Jordan also found the hoop twice. Clark Gay added two free throws for the Tigers. Colvin and Bryan each notched six points for the Eagles.

Wiggins paced Straughn (6-9) with 16 points in the win. Jordan and Sikes also contributed double-digit efforts at 12 and 11, respectively. Driver had eight followed by Black at six.

Bryan and Colvin tied for the top spot with 14 points each for Pleasant Home (12-7). Hawkins added 10 in the loss as Kelley tallied five points.

“These young men have been working every day and every game to get better. We are focusing on what we need to do to progress in the playoffs. Tonight, these young men put everything together, and I was proud for them. We put a complete game on the court. PHS was missing one of their key players, so I know the next time we meet, we will have to respond to additional threats on the floor,” SHS Head Coach Trevor Driver said.

Both teams are in action tonight, Friday, Jan. 12. Pleasant Home heads to McKenzie for area matchups, while Straughn remains home and faces Georgiana.