Timmonsville boys, girls sweep Lamar

LAMAR — It is said familiarity breeds contempt.

By the time their respective seasons are over, Timmonsville and Lamar will know each other very well. In the second of four meetings between rivals separated by just six miles, Timmonsville turned relentless defense into transition offense as the Whirlwinds downed the Silver Foxes, 74-61, in boys basketball action Tuesday night.

“Our defense is our best offense. Most of our points come off our defense,” said Timmonsville coach Gerald Wright, whose team improved to 9-1 on the season. “We press all over the court and we block shots.”

Fast-break basketball characterized the first period as the Silver Foxes and Whirlwinds played at an incredible pace. Timmonsville, however, ended the quarter on a 16-6 run and carried a 22-12 lead into the second period.

Throughout the first half, Lamar (4-7) had trouble navigating through the tall trees of Whirlwinds’ defense. The Silver Foxes had several shots blocked or altered during the first 16 minutes, leading to easy fast-break dunks and layups for Timmonsville.

“We took away (Lamar’s) inside game, and that gave us some easy baskets,” Wright said. “When you do that, you’ll win ball games.”

“We run a motion offense where we try to attack the basket from the wings,” first-year Silver Foxes coach Wally Johnson said. “We’re supposed to move the ball faster than the defense, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

The Whirlwinds refused to let up on the throttle as they took a 44-27 lead into halftime.

Timmonsville’s Antonio Jones posted a double-double, 20 points and 16 rebounds, to lead all scorers. Jonathan Jones followed with 15 points, and Oshwand Scott added 12.

Antonio McAllister and Kendrick Graham each scored 10 points for the Whirlwinds.

“We had balanced scoring tonight,” said Wright, whose Whirlwinds routed Lamar 89-42 on Dec. 13. “Everyone got in on the act tonight.”

Lamar managed to slice the deficit to eight in the second half, but could get no further as Timmonsville continued to wreak havoc inside the paint defensively.

“(The Whirlwinds) block a lot of shots,” Johnson said. “We did a better job of trying to get to the basket than we did in the first meeting.

“Their inside guys are big and experienced. When you put those together, that’s a mean combination.

B.J. Goodson led three Silver Foxes in double figures with 20 points. Delante Price finished with 14 points, and Eric Bennett followed with 10.

Girls
Timmonsville 54, Lamar 22
The Whirlwinds (7-3) opened the game on a 14-0 run on their way to a blowout victory.

Brittany Williams led three players in double figures with 17 points for Timmonsville. Ashley McKithen and Sade Eli added 16 and 12 points, respectively.

“I thought we played better (against Lamar) than we’ve been playing lately,” Whirlwinds coach Perry Stokes said. “Playing against Wilson and South Florence (at the Pee Dee Invitational) made us a better team.

“Hopefully, we will continue to get better.”

Kiera Brown connected on three 3-pointers and led the Silver Foxes (2-5) with 16 points.

Friday night, Timmonsville travels to Marion. Lamar will head to Dillon.