Several teams square off in holiday action in Mississippi and in Tennessee
Photo: Players battle for a rebound during Northpoint Christian girls’ basketball victory over Munford, Tenn. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Northpoint Christian’s basketball teams opened their two-day run at the Fayette Academy Christmas Classic with a pair of wins on Thursday.
The Northpoint boys took down Brighton, Tenn. 65-43, while the girls outscored Munford, Tenn. 50-36
In the boys game, the Trojans roared out to a quick 11-2 lead on the Cardinals and led 23-9 after one quarter. Northpoint would go on to mount a 37-19 lead on Brighton at halftime with Ayden Kelley leading the Trojans in scoring with 17 points.
The lead grew to 25 for Northpoint at 48-23 with 2:29 left in the third quarter and carried a 53-30 advantage into the final eight minutes.
From left, Myles Colom and Ayden Kelley were Northpoint Players of the Game.
Kelley led all scorers with 29 points, followed by Myles Colom with 14. Both were named Northpoint Players of the Game. Jayden McIntyre paced Brighton with 23 points.
Northpoint coach Barry Gray thought the win over Brighton might have been one of the best of the season on both sides of the court.
“I was excited about the way we shared the ball and were efficient on offense,” Gray said. “I was proud of the defense, it was good. It was one of our best games of the year, both defense and offensively.”
In the girls contest, the Lady Trojans also roared out to a fast pace, taking a 14-2 lead on the Lady Cougars with 1:10 left in the first quarter. Northpoint had scored the first 14 points of the game. It continued to be all Northpoint in the second quarter on the Lady Trojans’ way to a 25-6 intermission score. Nailah Herrera led all scorers with eight points in the first half.
In the second half, Northpoint had a 21 point lead but saw the margin shrink to 38-23 after three periods of action.
Nailah Herrera, Northpoint Christian School
“I think we grew up a lot today,” Gray said about his girls’ team after the win. “We’re still learning what each person can and cannot do. We became a little more efficient today.”
Gray said both teams will get stiffer tests on Friday when they return to the Viking Center to face Bolivar Central, Tenn. boys and girls teams during the afternoon, starting at 12 noon.
