Bob Jones nears finish line, wins at Grissom
Friday night, Bob Jones hit the road again and kept up their torrid pace as they led from the outset against a Grissom team that the Patriots had beaten by 28 back on November 15 in the first game of the season. This time it was much closer as Grissom outscored Bob Jones in the second half but in the end the Patriots picked up win number 23 by a final of 58-49.
Bob Jones also played at full strength for the first time since Dec. 10 when Will Gibson went down with a broken ankle. Gibson played and scored 6 points against Grissom. He hit two three-point baskets in the first half in limited playing time.
Jeffrey Moss carried the scoring load throughout the game for the Patriots and started early with 6 points in the first quarter. A 3-point play by Moss put Bob Jones up 27-18 in the second quarter but Grissom’s Blake Johnson nailed a three to close to 27-21.
Grissom outshot Bob Jones from behind the arc to keep the game close all night. The Tigers hit 3 three-pointers in the first half and 6 for the game while Bob Jones was only 2 of 7 from long range.
Bob Jones closed out the first half on a 6-0 run powered by fast break points from Brandon Harris. Reggie Ragland scored around the basket and was an efficient 4 of 8 shooting for 8 first half points. Moss added nine as the Patriots held their largest lead of the game 33-21 at the break.
Grissom cut the lead to 37-31 in the third quarter on consecutive three pointers by Allen Smith. Grissom created some matchup problems in the Bob Jones man-to-man defense but still the Patriots had their moments on defense. Brandon Harris forced a turnover and Travon Landry hit a running jump shot in the lane to end the third quarter at 43-35.
Moss kept up the scoring by hitting a baseline jumper but Grissom nailed another three to close to 51-46 early in the fourth quarter. But the Patriots were nearly perfect from the free throw line as Moss was 6 of 6 for the game. Landry and Tyler Davis were 2 of 2 each down the stretch to push the lead back to 10.
Moss finished with a game-high 22 points; his second straight game over 20. Ragland had 12 and Landry had 10. Overall Bob Jones shot 50 percent from the field as they worked the ball down low for good looks then hit the offensive boards.
“When they get the lead they can just about hold it because they got guards that can handle it and they made their free throws down the stretch,” said Grissom coach Bo Coln. “When Bob Jones is shooting it well from the perimeter they are hard to beat. They didn’t have to tonight because they scored in the lane.”
Bob Jones is now 23-1 and has 4 games left in the regular season including a makeup game at Lee. Their next home game will be Jan. 31 against Johnson. Senior night will be Feb. 6 against Huntsville.
Girls:
Bob Jones 70, Grissom 22
Bob Jones got out to a big lead early powered by China Leary’s three three-point baskets in the first quarter. Jasmine Jones also had a big first half with 13 points. Bob Jones led 29-4 after one quarter and 39-10 at the half. All the backup Lady Patriot players got plenty of playing time and every player on the bench scored except one. Meredith Lovelady led in second half scoring with 7.
Area tournament matchups set
Both the Bob Jones boys and girls with meet Decatur in first round games in the area tournament which will be held at the Bob Jones main gym Feb.9-13. Austin and Florence will be the other game. The first round game losers will be eliminated and their seasons will be over.
