By By Fredie Carmichael/Special to The Star
FEB. 13, 2001
The 2001 Division 7-2A Boys Tournament kicked off Monday night with a bang as Morton ended Enterprise's season with 75-46 whipping, while Bay Springs shot the lights out in the night's final game to claim a 87-55 victory over Richton.
Morton 75, Enterprise 46: Too much Elijah McDonald.
Enterprise was unable to contain the inside play of Morton's McDonald as he went off for 26 points against the Bulldogs Monday night.
McDonald heated up early, getting nice inside position on a Bulldog defender for the game's first two points.
Enterprise scored the next four points as football star Bryan Bester penetrated the lane and made a nice dish inside to Mike Clark. Bester then made another nifty pass in transition to Corey Boggan a minute later to put the Dogs up.
Bester's cutting jumper in the lane gave Enterprise an 8-5 advantage with 2:25 left in the first period, but that's where the Panthers took control.
Morton connected on consecutive 3-pointers to end the period with 13-8 lead and never looked back as they were on their way to a 16-0 run. That run ended on two made free throws by Ralph Peterson as the Panthers were on top 22-8 with 4:18 left in the half.
Enterprise could only manage to muster four second-quarter points and trailed Morton 33-12 at the break.
The Bulldogs cut it to 33-16 off back-to-back layups by Burrell Gandy, but that was as close as they would get as Enterprise's season came to a close.
Followed by McDonald's 26, Andrew Lewis had 14 for the Panthers while Todd Butler added 10. Boggan led the way for Enterprise with 16 points and Gandy chipped in with 12.
Morton gets either Newton or Seminary in Thursday's semifinals.
Bay Spring 87, Richton 55: It might have been dry outside Clarkdale's gym Monday night, but it was raining 3s on the inside as Bay Springs stroked 11 3-pointers in a 87-55 dismantling of Richton.
Bay Springs' Jason Forte' exploded for 26 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point land. He hardly missed and neither did his teammates as they shot an astonishing 68 percent from behind the arc.
In the first quarter, it was a hard fought war as both teams answered one another shot-for-shot and Bay Springs held an early 12-10 lead on a 20-foot jumper by Enos Hamilton.
Forte' made the first of five 3s with a defender draped all over him, as he dropped it home to put the Bulldogs on top 20-12 with 1:08 left in the first.
After trailing 23-14 at the end of the first period, the Rebels of Richton came clawing back and scored the first four points of the second quarter to cut it to 23-18 with 5:21 on the clock.
Bay Springs took control in the closing seconds of the first half as Forte' and Claude Prewitt hit consecutive 3-point bombs to send the Bulldogs into the locker room with a comfortable 35-20 lead.
Forte' and crew took control in the second half as the door was slammed shut when Forte' took an alley-oop pass from Prewitt and shook the gym when he jammed it in to put Bay Springs up by 19.
Followed by Forte's 26 points, Prewitt scored 15 and Hamilton had 12. Richton was led in scoring by Taurean Carter's 18.
The Bulldogs will play in Thursday's semifinals against the winner of tonight's Taylorsville/Clarkdale game.