DeKalb drops Eastside boys
In semifinal action of the Warren Masonic Lodge tournament Friday night, DeKalb Middle School defeated Warren County Eastside 42-34 to put the last remaining team from Warren County out of contention for the championship.
Turnovers hurt the Bulldogs in the opening period. Justin France got the Saints off and running as he laid in back-to-back baskets. Caleb Northcutt went to the foul line two times, hitting one-of-two on each trip. Back-to-back steals by DeKalb County produced baskets from McCullough Wallace and Daniel Stanley. Northcutt added a basket for the Bulldogs and Wallace closed out the Saints? scoring in the first period as DeKalb held a 12-5 lead.
In the second period, the Saints out-played Eastside on the boards, coming up with three second-chance baskets. Stanley laid back in two offensive rebounds and France added another. Northcutt scored six of the Bulldogs? 10 points in the period as Gage Myers, Brady Powers and Adam Hollandsworth combined for four points. But as the first half came to an end the Saints still held a seven-point advantage.
Daniel Young opened the third period with a steal and layup for the Saints. Gavin Lewis put back an offensive rebound for the Bulldogs, but the Saints ran off six unanswered points. Myers hit a 3-pointer at the 3:51 mark and the Bulldogs added four more points before the period ended. The Saints ran the floor during the final three minutes of the quarter as Wallace struck for six points and Rhody proved to be unstoppable in the paint as the Saints took a 37-24 lead.
Action in the final period saw Eastside make a run with 3:12 left on the clock. Northcutt hit for four points, with Myers and Powers adding a basket. The Saints scored just five points in the final period, but it would be enough as DeKalb advanced to Saturday?s championship game.
For the Bulldogs, Northcutt had 16 points followed by Myers with 10, Hollandsworth and Powers added three points each and Lewis had two points.
Wallace had 11 points for the Saints. Rhody added nine, France had seven, Stanley added six, Tyler Caldwell had five, Cody Puckett and Young added two points apiece.