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Indians Boot(h) LFO
Murray ace goes for 17 in runaway
CHATSWORTH — They started out a little sluggish Tuesday night and let Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe take the lead, but after a stern halftime lecture from coach Greg Linder, Murray County’s Indians closed with a game-deciding 29-4 run and coasted to a 67-31 victory over the Warriors.
A relentless full-court press that resulted in easy transition baskets — Beau Booth led the offense with 17 points — helped the Indians (2-3) hold the Warriors (0-3) scoreless until 1:12 was left in the fourth quarter and Murray County earned its second win of the young season over LFO.
But it was the way the Indians began the game — the Warriors took a 14-12 lead midway through the second quarter — that bothered Linder.
“For whatever reason, we had to have a little get-together there at halftime,” Linder said. “I think we came out (like) the team that we want to be in the second half. I thought we came out playing hard in the first part of the first quarter, but then I went to my bench and we kind of dropped off, which is unusual for us. It’s normally the other way around.”
The Indians began the third quarter with a 24-18 lead, went on a 9-4 run and went up by 11 points to stretch their margin to 44-27 going into the fourth quarter. Murray County continued to extend the lead by starting off the fourth on a 16-0 run, thanks to two easy transition buckets and six more off LFO turnovers forced by the Indians’ pressure defense.
Taking advantage of the easy baskets, Murray shot 54 percent (21-for-39) from the field, but the Indians’ long-range shooting was also effective as they shot 6-for-10 from behind the 3-point line.
“I think this year, of all years, we’ve got to use our transition game and pressure people,” Linder said. “We’ve got a slew of guys that can play and we’ve got to be able to crank up that pressure. I started seeing signs of (LFO) wearing down in the fourth quarter and that’s a part of the press that we’ve got to have, wearing them down early on and trying to take their legs out from under them.”
It looked as though the Indians would hold the Warriors scoreless in the fourth quarter, and starters like Seth Davenport — one of three Murray County players who scored in double figures — rooted for the shutout from the bench as the second unit mopped up.
“When we realized they hadn’t scored and there was just a few minutes left,” Davenport said, “we wanted to see how much further we could keep it going.”
In addition to his game-high 17 points, Booth also grabbed six rebounds. Davenport and Zach England each scored 10 points and Taylor Patterson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Warriors were led by Seth Weaver’s nine points, coming on three 3-pointers.
• LFO girls 58, Murray County 49: Though the Lady Indians played LFO much closer than their season-opening 67-36 loss to the Lady Warriors, they couldn’t overcome a sluggish first half that saw them trailing 16-7 after the first quarter and 28-17 at halftime.
Murray County (1-4) outscored the Lady Warriors (4-1) 17-13 in the third quarter, but never threatened to take a lead.
“I feel like we can play with that team,” Lady Indians interim coach Carl Koneman said. “I thought we had the right game plan in place, but it’s just a matter of handling the pressure. The slow start hurt us.”
Tember Marchant led the Lady Indians with 16 points and Lindsay Watts had 11 points and three steals. Jasmine Carey led the Lady Warriors with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jacqueline Schadeck chipped in 16 points.
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A keen work ethic
Misty Watson/ The Daily Citizen
This is Kolby Keener’s school year — athletically speaking — at Murray County High School: It’s softball in August, but before that season is barely cold in the books, it’s time for basketball. After the hardwood season concludes, it’s off to travel softball, which ends for her in late May.
Continued ...
Then, it’s time for a summer break.
Oh, wait. There’s no time for relaxation.
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