Yellowjackets finish second in tourney
The Newton Tigers started off Division 6-2A play with a loss to Philadelphia and coach Crandal Porter questioned his team’s toughness.
That was the last time Porter had to do that as Newton won seven straight division games to win the regular-season 6-2A championship. The Tigers finished out 6-2A play with two more wins last week, beating Union 59-45 to win the tournament championship.
Newton beat Scott Central 62-40 on Thursday night in the tournament semifinals.
Newton is 12-4 overall heading into the Class 2A South State playoffs as they will host Enterprise Lincoln on Friday. Union will host Wesson on Friday night.
Newton coach Crandal Porter said the Tigers have showed steady improvement as the season has gone on.
“I really think from the Philadelphia game to now, we have really grown so much,” Porter said. “Talent is not the question. I know we are talented, that’s not the question but it’s the little things like toughness and focus. I told them that they have come light years since that Philadelphia loss. I don’t think we have lost a game since then. They are young but they are growing up in front of our eyes. I’m really pleased with them.”
Newton 59, Union 45
The Tigers beat the Yellowjackets for the third time this season with a 14-point win on Friday in the tournament finals.
Newton led 7-4 in the first and 18-12 at the half. Newton started to pull away in the second half as they outscored Union 19-13 in the third and 22-20 in the fourth.
Tyreke Snow led Newton with 20 points, all in the second half while Cahden Thompson had 10 points. Kezarrian Wash and Camron Blaylock each had six points apiece.
“One thing about Tyreke, he loves to play defense and offense is really not his focus,” Porter said. “He never misses a rotation so with group, we are always looking for our 8-0, 10-0 run. It came a little later than we were hoping it would but when it did, it kind of opened up the flood gates.”
Jamarcus Jones led Union with 22 points while Bryce Young had 12 points. E.J. Campbell had six points and Kenyon Clay added five points.
“I knew we had to come out and play well,” Union coach Jon Darnell said. “Newton is really good team and really well coached. I challenged the boys before the game to play their butts off and I thought they did. I thought they gave it everything they had. I told the boys that we couldn’t survive 12-0 runs. We might could survive 4-0 runs but not those big runs. Newton pressures you nonstop. They are on you when you get off the bus. I thought for the most part we handled it but we had a few bad possessions and if you turn the ball over against them, they are going to score. They scored 12 points in a minute and a half.
Newton boys 62, Scott Central 40
The Tigers outscored the Rebels in every period as they cruised to a 22-point win on Thursday in the semifinals.
Newton outscored Scott Central 15-10 in the first and 12-8 in the second to lead 27-18 at the half. Newton continued to extend its lead in the second half, outscoring Scott Central 18-11 in the third and 17-11 in the fourth.
Jalen Barten led Newton with 14 points while Kezarrian Wash had 10 points. Jabez Blaylock and Ravion Nettles had nine points while Kaleb Traxler had seven points.
Union 75, Philadelphia 71 (OT)
The Yellowjackets needed overtime to take a four-point win over the Tornadoes on Thursday in the conference semifinals.
Union led 20-10 at the end of the first and 34-23 at the half. But Philly fought back in the fourth as they outscored Union 19-9 in the third and 21-20 in the fourth to send the game into overtime. Union outscored Philadelphia 12-8 in the overtime period to take the win.
Jamarcus Jones led Union with 33 points while E.J. Campbell had 17 points. Kenyon Clay had 12 points while Bryce Young had six and Dylan Harrison added five points.
