Sparkman tops Buckhorn to stay perfect in area
Lamonte Turner led Sparkman with 14 points against Buckhorn
With an area title potentially on the line, Sparkman surged in the second half of a close basketball game and pulled away to a 50-37 home win over Buckhorn Friday night.
The win means the Senators clinch at least a tie for the Area 15 championship. They can clinch outright with a win at Hazel Green on January 25. Sixth ranked Sparkman is now 6-0 in area play and 19-2 overall.
Lamonte Turner led Sparkman with 7 points at the half and finished with a game-high 14 points. The senior shooting guard continues to make his mark on a Sparkman team that can get points from a number of different players.
“It was our defense that got us going in the fourth quarter,” said Turner. “We started grinding on offense, getting to the rack, getting to the free throw line and that really put the game away.”
Sparkman started out the game using the fast break to go up 7-2 but Buckhorn surged back and a 3-point shot by Theron Lomax gave the Bucks a 16-10 lead in the second quarter. Sparkman went on a 12-2 run as reserve Patrick Vaughn hit two baskets in the paint. Sparkman led 23-21 at the half.
The game was tied at 25 but Sparkman went ahead to stay on a 3-pointer by Devin Hankins. Another bench player for Sparkman, Marcus Jeter got an offensive rebound and scored to close the third quarter with Sparkman up 36-30.
Turner’s fast break basket and two free throws put Sparkman up by 10 with two minutes left in the game.
For Sparkman, Devin Hankins had 11 points in the game and William Crowell had four points, all in the second half. Marcus Jeter had 5 points.
For Buckhorn Treron Lomax had 10 and Isaiah Edwards had 8.
“I just play my role on the team,” Turner added. “I try to get my players involved first then I do whatever I need to do to get the lead and we were able to stretch it out late in the game.”
Sparkman defeated Hazel Green back on December 11 by a final score of 74-69. Sparkman faces a tough stretch in their schedule with three straight road games at Minor,Madison Academy, and Brewer before hosting Austin next Friday night. They then get a week off until the trip to Hazel Green.
