By Justin Fedich | The Selma Times-Journal

In the first quarter, Keith’s Mark Young grabbed the ball from a Francis Marion player and chucked it down the court to a wide open John Pettway, who lept into the air and uncharacteristically left the ball sitting on the front side of the rim. Dontavious Thomas had a chance to follow with an easy layup, but like Pettway, put the ball short of the basket.

That’s just the kind of night it was for Keith.

The Bears (5-2) couldn’t overcome a sluggish start Tuesday at home, falling in a tight fourth quarter battle to the class 2A Francis Marion Rams (4-2) 54-53. Pettway got into a rhythm late in the second quarter and it carried over to the second half as he led all scorers with 23 points.

“They out-everythinged us,” said Keith head coach Tommy Tisdale. “They beat us down the floor. They were moving faster than we were.”

Francis Marion took an 11-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, as Keith only hit two field goals throughout the first eight minutes.

Down 16-11 in the second quarter, Tisdale called a timeout.

“I challenged the seniors. I said, ‘look, we’re either going to play or we’re going to sit,’” Tisdale said. “I said that point blank, and they answered that challenge.”

The Bears came out of the timeout by scoring three fast-break layups in a span of two minutes. Justyn Pettway gave Keith its first lead of the game with a layup late in the second quarter to put the Bears ahead 17-16.

Thomas extended the lead to 23-19 with three free throws.

Dalven Johnson delivered a layup as time expired to push Keith in front 25-22 at halftime. Francis Marion came out firing in the third quarter, reclaiming the lead, 26-25.

John Pettway took control from there. He hit two straight two-point shots, followed by a dunk on a fast break to push Keith’s lead to 31-28.

John added two layups later in the quarter to give his team a 35-30 lead.

The Bears led 36-34 by the end of the third quarter, but consecutive layups by Jimmie Powell and Pettway allowed Keith to go up 40-34.

Francis Marion responded with a 9-0 run, but Thomas temporarily hushed the Rams fans with a corner 3-pointer that tied the game 43-43 with just under five minutes left in the game.

Keith dropped back down 46-43, but back-to-back layups from John and Johnson gave the Bears a 47-46 lead with 3:16 to play.

Trailing 48-47, Justyn hit a layup to give Keith a 49-48 lead.

Francis Marion once again answered, but Johnson tied the game 50-50 with a free throw.

The Rams’ Norman Kelly hit a game-deciding layup with time running down to push his team ahead. A last-second half court heave fell shy for John Pettway as Keith fell on the short end of a back-and-forth fourth quarter.

“We can’t come out like that regardless of who we’re playing, when we’re playing, where we’re playing under any circumstances,” Tisdale said.

 

Keith 53, Francis Marion 29 (girls)

Keith started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back.

The Keith Bears (6-1) used their power inside and a smothering defense to put an end to the game against the Francis Marion Rams (0-5) before it began in a 53-29 win Tuesday at Keith. Zykia Pettway led all scorers with 15 points.

“They’re trusting each other more and taking the shots and making the shots, so they’re working on it and building their confidence,” said Keith head coach Cecil Williams.

Alyshia Boone set the tone on defense for the Bears with two early blocks, the latter of which led to an Ambreya Snow layup.

Zykia and Jakayla Pettway found quick success near the net against the Rams. Jakayla also had a block early in the game, and she knocked down two foul shots to extend the lead to 4-0.

Zykia then scored the next five points of the game, catapulting the Bears ahead 9-0 with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter.

Harriet Winchester found a spark late in the first quarter. She sank a long two-point jump shot and drove through traffic for a layup as the first quarter clock wound down to put the Bears ahead 13-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Winchester scored the first three points of the second quarter, getting fouled on a layup, rebounding her foul shot and then knocking down her free throw to give Keith a 16-5 advantage.

Boone knocked down a turnaround jumper to give the Bears a double-digit lead at 18-7 midway through the second quarter.

Other Bears players found themselves on the score sheet before halftime. Tyiesha Malone and Shatavia Moore each added points as Keith took a 25-11 lead at the half.

Leading 29-17 in the third quarter, Keith went on a 7-0 run, capped off by a Winchester layup, to grab hold of a 36-17 lead.

Boone drained a deep two-point shot as the third quarter expired to give the Bears a 40-18 lead.

Zykia scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to put the Bears ahead 46-23. Okeemia Lewis added three points as the game wound down and the Bears won their sixth straight game in convincing fashion.

“We just have to keep them relaxed,” Williams said.

“We can’t let them get too emotional. We can’t let them think ahead.”

Keith’s girls’ and boys’ teams are home against Selma Friday.