Thanks to a big night from John Pettway, Keith rallied for a 59-53 victory over rival Selma in front of a standing room only crowd at Selma High School.

Pettway exploded in the second quarter — including a sequence where he got into the open floor and broke away for back-to-back thunderous dunks — and hit a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to put Keith up for good. Pettway finished with 36 points to lead all scorers.

“It’s a big win for the team because it’s a win. The last taste we had in our mouth was a loss to Akron, so we wanted to respond,” said Keith head coach Tommy Tisdale, who was referencing his team’s loss in the first round of the class 1A, area 5 tournament last season.

Selma led 11-7 after the first quarter, but Pettway scored all seven points for the Bears. In the second, the Saints took a 18-9 lead — the biggest lead for either team in the game — after Quentavious Davis followed two made free throws by getting to the rim for a layup.

Then, Pettway went crazy.

He got loose for a layup and a foul to pull the Bears within 18-14. A technical foul on Selma on the play gave him two more free throws, which he poured in to make it 18-16 Keith.

After a three by Kentravious White put Selma up 21-18, Pettway continued his scoring streak. After tacking on a free throw, he completed a dunk through a Saints’ player and then immediately got loose for another dunk.

The Bears stole the ball on the next Selma possession and Pettway was wide open for another layup. All in all, he scored 26 in the first half and Keith led 30-26 at the break.

“The box-and-one worked well in the first half until we let him get in the open court and didn’t get back,” said Selma head coach Woodie Jackson.

Selma led 41-37 after the third quarter but couldn’t hang on. Dontavius Thomas nailed a 3-pointer to pull Keith within one and then hit an even bigger three minutes later. Standing on the wing, Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer and got fouled for a four-point play that put the Bears up 52-46.

Thomas scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter.

“Dontavius made some shots down the stretch,” Tisdale said. “I think in the second or third quarter, he was kind of second guessing his shot and I told him at halftime … ‘It’s my job to take you out if I think you’re shooting too much. You shoot it until I tell you to stop.’ It just started falling.”

Selma fought back and Loveless Craig’s layup with 2:55 left put the Saints up 53-52. Pettway answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Bears up 55-53. He tacked on three more in the final minute and the Bears held on for a season opening win.

Selma’s Aderick Moore left in the first half with what Jackson said was an ankle sprain.  He did not return.

Keith will host R.C. Hatch Tuesday night in the Bears’ home opener, while Selma will be off until hosting R.C. Hatch Friday.

 

Selma 44, Keith 38 (Girls)

Jamya Smith knocked down a three and turned a steal into an easy layup in the fourth quarter to help Selma knock off class 1A state champion Keith 44-38.

Smith led all Saints in scoring with 13 points as Selma took control early in the fourth quarter and pulled away from the Bears.

“They bring the best out of us. A lot of people say 1A versus 6A but it isn’t that,” said Saints head coach Anthony Harris. “It’s the talent on the floor.”

Early on, it was clear the game would probably be close throughout.

Keith led 16-15 at the half after a 7-2 run right before the break, but Selma rallied to lead 29-27 after three quarters.

Shatavia Moore led the Bears in scoring with 15 points, followed by Harriet Winchester with 13.

The Bears left many points on the court, as they shot 11-for-26 from the free throw line and turned the ball over throughout.

“It was sloppy. We have to get things going, but like I told them, it’s just the first game of the season,” said Keith head coach Cecil Williams. ”We’ve got probably 28 more games, so we’ll be fine.”