The Fox Box: County wide sports updates

Jacksonville Indians, Maidens

The Jacksonville Indians visited Bullard Tuesday, Dec. 11, beating the Panthers 67-58.

The Indians hosted the Kilgore Bulldogs Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15, losing both competitions by slim margins. The final score of Friday’s match was a single point difference, 50-49. Saturday’s game resulted in a two-point deficit, 41-39.

The Indians were to open conference play by hosting the Marshall Mavericks Tuesday, Dec. 18. They will travel to Lufkin to face the Panthers Friday, Dec. 21.

The Jacksonville Maidens began conference play last week when they hosted the John Tyler Lions, defeating them 45-35 for their first district win.

The Maidens traveled to Hallsville Friday, Dec. 14, where they overwhelmed the Bobcats 55-21, giving Jacksonville their second district win.

The Maidens were to host the Marshal Mavericks Tuesday, Dec. 18, and will travel to Lufkin Friday, Dec. 21.

Rusk Eagles, junior high
Lady Eagles

The Rusk Eagles defeated Bullard Friday, Dec. 14, to bring their first non-conference win of the season.

Down by a single point after the first quarter, the Eagles outscored the Panthers 22-18 in the second frame for a 35-32 half-time lead. They increased the lead by sinking 19 points over Bullard’s 11 in third period, taking the score to 54-43. Bullard managed to keep a three-point margin in fourth quarter scoring, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit giving Rusk the 79-65 victory.

Joseph Francis scored 32 points in the game, pulled in eight rebounds and had eight assists. Semaj Johnson scored 15 points and captured nine rebounds. Colton Killingsworth also scored 15 points in the game, all three-pointers.

The Rusk Eagles are scheduled to play at Gary Thursday, Dec. 20.

The seventh-grade Lady Eagles A Team participated in the Whitehouse Basketball Tournament Saturday, Dec. 8. The team defeated the 5A Longview Pine Tree Lady Pirates 20-18 before falling to the Carthage Ladydogs in the championship game and taking second place.

Coaches for the team are Corinna Ford and Ashton Bouline.

Alto Yellowjackets, Lady Jackets

The Alto Yellowjackets fell short, 47-59, in their game against the Martindale Pirates Tuesday, Dec. 11.

The first quarter resulted in a 16-10 Alto deficit to the Pirates. By the half, Alto had taken a single point lead, 26-25. In the third quarter Martinsville outscored the Yellowjackets by 10 points, 23-13. Alto stayed within three points in the final frame, but it was too little to overcome the shortfall and Martinsville won the game.

Skyler Atkins was high scorer with 12 points followed closely by Fred Thacker, 11 points, and Marlon Warren, 10 points. Keithen Jenkins sank six points, Bubba Mumphrey and Kurrinsai Jackson each added three and Jay Pope dropped in two points.

On Friday, Dec. 14, the Yellowjackets hosted Wells, achieving a 78-38 victory over the Pirates.

Alto took a significant 18-8 lead in the first quarter and was ahead 35-15 by half-time. The Yellowjackets outscored Wells 23-12 in the third quarter and 20-11 in the fourth, giving them a decisive win.

Atkins and Thacker were again high scorers with 18 and 17 points respectively. Warren and Mumphrey each dropped in 13 points. Jackson added seven points to the team total, while Jenkins sank five points. Jordan Randall and Pope each added two points and Ki’Alo Deason added one.

“Everyone who dressed out tonight scored,” commented head coach Seth Hubbard.

Alto hosted Frankston Monday, Dec. 10, losing to the Indians 32-40. The point spread was close in the first two quarters, 7-11 and 8-12 respectively, and the Yellowjackets outscored the Indians 11-9 in the third quarter. In the final frame, Alto fell short by two points, 6-8, and was unable to complete the comeback.

Top scorer for Alto was Thacker with 14 points followed by Warren with 9. Atkins sank six points while Kurriin Sai Jackson added 2 and Jenkins shot an additional point for the team.

The Yellowjackets will play in the Tenaha Holiday Hoops Tournament Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29.

The Lady Jackets were beaten by the Bulldogs Friday, Dec. 14, when they traveled to Broaddus.

Alto Lady Jackets dropped behind, 8-17, in the first quarter but held a closer 10-13 margin in the second period. In the third quarter, the Lady Jackets allowed Broaddus a 7-18 lead. In the final frame, Alto kept pace, scoring the same 12 points as Broaddus. In the final tally, Alto lost 37-60.

The Lady Jackets are not scheduled to play again until after the winter break. They will travel to New Summerfield Friday, Jan. 4, to begin conference play.

New Summerfield Hornets,

Lady Hornets

The New Summerfield Hornets and Lady Hornets hosted the Athens Christian Preparatory Academy Storm Tuesday, Dec. 11, with both teams attaining wins over their competitors.

The Hornets won by a score of 69-13, giving them a 12-3 record in non-conference play.

The Hornets were slated to host Bishop TK Gorman Tuesday, Dec. 18, and will host LaPoyner Thursday, Dec. 20.

The Lady Hornets took a commanding lead over Athens Prep, with a 12-5 first quarter margin. By the half, the Lady Hornets had a 20-8 lead. The Storm managed to stay within two points during the third quarter, but New Summerfield outscored them 10-2 in the final frame. The Lady Hornets won, 41-19.

Bethany Dearing was high scorer with 20 points, Leslie Guzman scored 8 points and Sara Rangel sank six points. Nijah Lee dropped in four points; Perla Garcia added two and Karla Gonzalez, one.

The team shot 46 percent from the free throw line.

The Lady Hornets faced the Bulldogs at Union Hill Friday, Dec. 14. New Summerfield shut out their hosts 25-0 through the first three quarters of the game. In the final frame, the Bulldogs managed eight points to the Lady Hornets’ nine, resulting in a 34-8 win for New Summerfield.

Lee was high scorer with 12 points. Maribel Zavala sank six points; Dearing shot five and Guzman dropped in four. Also adding to the team score were Stephany Hernandez, three points; Garcia, 2 points; and Karla Gonzalez and Emily Mendoza with one point each. The team shot 44 percent from the charity stripe. The Lady Hornets were scheduled to play at Laneville Monday, Dec. 17 and will play at Trinity School of Texas in Longview Thursday, Dec. 20.