5A Wilcox Central

By James Gilmore

The Selma Times-Journal

UNIONTOWN &045; The Bobcats of R C Hatch capitalized on the Wilcox Central Jaguars’ foul woes to capture their 5th straight win, 74- 57.

In the third quarter, Jaguar Alquan Mendenhall, who had put his team ahead 40-38 with a 3-pointer, picked up his 4th foul with 5:32 on clock.

While he was on the bench, Hatch ran off 11 straight points, seven from Frankie Sullivan, and held Wilcox to one field goal the rest of the quarter and took a 51-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

The packed Eugene Mason Sports Center knew it was in store for a great game after the first two quarters of play. WC led after the 1st quarter 16 – 14. Hatch led at the half 34 – 33. In the first half there were 10 lead changes and 9 ties. Mendenhall had 11 points, including three triples.

The Jags&8217; outscored the Bobcats 7 – 4 in the first two minutes of the 3rd quarter before Mendenhall got called for his 4th foul. &8220;Whenever you take the leader and best scorer off the floor it takes something off our offense.&8221; said Wilcox coach Mark Dukes.

The Jaguars open the 4th with back-to-back threes from Mendenhall to close the gap 51 – 48 and 7:05 to play. Hatch turned up their defense and went on a 15 to 3 tear in the next five minutes to seal their 6th win of the season. &8220;I&8217;m proud of our team defense,&8221; added Davis, &8220;we talked, helped out, and shifted well.&8221;

Sullivan led all scorers with 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Cats&8217;. Senior Phillip Johnson added 18 points and Willie Coleman chipped in 14. Hatch will hit the hardwood Saturday when they travel to Livingston.

Mendenhall finished with 20 points, six threes, for WC. Cortez Irby scored 11 points and Trevell Coleman contributed 10. The Jaguars will host Hillcrest-Evergreen on Friday.