Indians wear out Broncos in district tourney
Published 6:00 am Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Players for Southampton High School and Franklin High School battle for a rebound during the first round of the Tri-Rivers District Tournament on Friday, Feb. 11. (Photo by Frank A. Davis)
Southampton High School senior center Javen Johnson works under the hoop with the ball as the defense of host Franklin High School applies pressure. (Photo by Frank A. Davis)
Franklin High School sophomore guard Kaden Bailey glides in the air while driving for two points Friday, Feb. 11. (Photo by Frank A. Davis)
Junior forward Kamari Scott, of Southampton High School, looks to shoot, while senior forward Jaylon Santiful, of Franklin High School, looks to block. (Photo by Frank A. Davis)
Southampton High School Head Coach Sharone Bailey, right, and Franklin High School Head Coach Robby Cutchins shake hands after the Indians’ 69-59 road win over the Broncos in the first round of the varsity boys basketball Tri-Rivers District Tournament on Friday, Feb. 11. (Photo by Frank A. Davis)
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By Frank A. Davis
Franklin High School Varsity Boys Basketball Head Coach Robby Cutchins summed up the story of his team’s 69-59 loss to visiting Southampton High School in the first round of the Tri-Rivers District Tournament on Friday, Feb. 11: “We simply ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.”
Franklin and Southampton went 1-1 against each other during the regular season, and for much of the game Friday, the Broncos appeared to be in position to win the third meeting. They went into the final quarter of play with a 53-47 lead and had led in the previous three quarters. At the 4:16 mark in the fourth, the Indians tied the score at 56. The game was tied again, 59-59, with 2:40 to go, and then the Indians went ahead 62-59 at the 2:19 point and held the lead until the final horn.
For the game, the Indians had four players who ended up scoring in double figures — Javen Johnson, with 16 points; Semaj Moore, with 14 points; Josh Jiggetts, with 13 points; and Kamari Scott, with 11 points.
The Broncos were led by Derrick Perry, with 17 points; Kaden Bailey, with 12 points; and Kenaz Jones, with 11 points.
After the game, Southampton Head Coach Sharone Bailey said, “We came out and kind of played a little bit behind and then in the third quarter turned it on by switching our defense and attacking them on the glass. We had 48 rebounds to their 19. We dominated inside and were able to wear them out.
“It was a great game, Franklin fought hard, and I think they will do a great job in the (1B) region, representing the Tri-Rivers District,” Bailey added.
In Cutchins’ remarks after the game, he gave credit to the Indians.
“Hats off to Southampton,” he said. “We took round one, they got round two, and they KO’d us in round three. We talked about a lot of the small things that we had to do, but obviously their size was second-to-none against ours. They got second chance after second chance and opportunities, and at the end of the day, that was the deciding factor. I thought we played really well for about 22-24 minutes, but the small things that we talked about that would be the difference in this basketball game ultimately proved to be the difference.”
