Tony Freeman gets a shot attempt down the lane.
Triton crowned tourney champ; Weeks, McLaurin honored
Josiah McLaurin and Colby Weeks were named part of the All Tournament team.
Colby Weeks drives for two of his 12 points and All Tournament honors.
Josiah McLaurin gets off a jumper. He wa also All Tournament.
Jameek Joyner gets a shot off over Lakewood’s Trent Tanner.
Shamell Little gets a shot attempt down the lane.
Trey White gets a shot off over Bennett Darden.
The 2021 edition of the Kenny Bass Christmas Tournament concluded Tuesday night, with Charles B. Aycock getting a 69-65 win over Triton in a hard-fought back and forth game. It was two of Sampson’s own in the consolation game, including host Hobbton taking on Lakewood.
In the early game, the Hobbton Wildcats dominated a young, inexperience Lakewood team getting a 42-24 win. The Wildcats got a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and had a 21-10 advantage at halftime. The Wildcats would go on to outscore the Leopards 13-3 in the third quarter to take a 34-13 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Leopards outscored the Wildcats 11-8 as the Wildcats moved the ball around, slowing the game.
“I’m really proud of my guys tonight,” commented Hobbton coach Brandon Beasley. “They came out and executed our game plan exactly like we talked about. Overall, we were very patient in the basketball game. We dictated the pace. We finally started making good passes. We worked together as a team. We didn’t turn the ball over in transition. Tonight we actually made 71% of our free throw shots and typically we are a sub 45% team so that played a major role in us getting the win. Defensively, we held Lakewood to zero points in the first quarter which is something I have never experience. One of my big philosophies is good defense and we bought in to that and we played really tough. We got a little unfocused in the fourth quarter and they started making a comeback. Overall, I think we did fantastic. I’m really proud of my guys.”
Kenny Bass, namesake of the tournament and 1984 state championship coach, said: “In all the games I’ve ever coached, I never held a team to a zero quarter.”
“We are in a rebuilding year,” comment Lakewood coach Brandon Powell. “We have a lot of things we need to work on. For a lot of these guys, it’s the first time playing together, so we definitely need to improve chemistry. We’ve got a lot of young kids and we are looking to improve each game. That’s what we are looking for.”
Colby Weeks and Josiah McLaurin were named All Tournament players for Hobbton.
Weeks led the Wildcat scoring with 11 points. McLaurin chipped in nine points. Bennett Darden had eight points, Ashwad Wynn had seven points and Joyner had five points.
For the Leopards, Cu’Wan Williams had 11 points, Trey White had seven points and Shamell Little had four points.