Wilson cruises to easy win over West Florence

FLORENCE — On Tuesday night, West Florence led at halftime on the road against Darlington before crumbling in the second half on the way to a blowout loss.

At home against Wilson on Friday night, it took just a quarter for the Knights to duplicate the feat. Shahmel Brackett led three players in double figures with 22 points as the Tigers ran away with an 80-45 victory in boys basketball action.

Despite the loss, West coach Bion Shoemaker said his team showed heart and determination, something that was lacking in Tuesday’s loss to the Falcons.

“Against Darlington, we quit on the system and started running our own stuff,” he said. “We played much harder than we did against Darlington.

“We made an effort to stick to the system in the second half. The things we did poorly (against Wilson) can be corrected, and we will.”

West Florence (1-2) went away from its normal Princeton-style offense in the opening period, choosing to run against the Tigers’ pressing defense. The Knights sank several fast-break buckets and held a 15-14 advantage heading into the second period.

“West tries to shorten the game by taking a minute off the clock,” Tigers coach Bob Wilson said. “Our goal was to try and speed them up in the first quarter.”

The lead was short-lived. Brackett and Alan Michael Thompson each hit baskets as Wilson went on a 14-0 run to take a 28-15 lead at the five-minute mark of the second period.

Brackett finished with 15 points in the first half as the Tigers outscored West 31-13 in the second period to carry a 45-28 lead into the break.

Thompson scored 18 points for Wilson (1-0), and Trevonte Dixon added 17.

“We moved the ball pretty well tonight,” Wilson said. “If our players work to get open, they’re going to get the ball.”

Wilson added his team’s depth was a key to running away with the contest in the second half.

“Depth means nothing in the first four minutes, when everyone’s fresh,” he said. “It means everything in the second half when the other team is tired.”

Jonathon Gardner led the Knights with 14 points. Raheem Williamson and Marquis Hickson followed with eight points each.

Said Shoemaker, “We’re not a good team yet. Wilson is a cut above us right now. We were lucky to be leading after the first quarter.”

Girls
Wilson 65
West Florence 21
Using a half-court press to rack up easy steals, the Tigers (1-0) raced to an 18-3 first-period lead en route to routing West Florence.

Brittany Davis and Brieanna Taylor benefitted from that defense to score 16 and 15 points, respectively, for Wilson. Tyeasha Gibson pulled down 11 rebounds, while Chasity Watson had 10 boards to go along with seven points.

“We tried to be a little more dimensional and versatile tonight,” Wilson coach Ann Talbert said. “We’re known as a full-court pressing team, but we wanted to press more in the halfcourt to force turnovers.”

Since its season-opening win over East Clarendon, West (1-2) has been outscored 140-36 in its last two games. Shelby Robertson led the Knights with nine points.

The Tigers travel to South Florence on Tuesday night, while West heads to Timmonsville.