Sandies Claim Round One Against Lions

LOVELADY – Friday night’s showdown between the Grapeland Sandies and Lovelady Lions had numerous storylines. It was a showdown between the only two undefeated teams left in district play, as well as a battle between Houston County rivals, and a matchup between two teams ranked in the top 15 in class 1A. The Grapeland Sandies entered the game ranked #9 in class 1A and riding a five-game winning streak, while the Lions were ranked #15 and riding a six-game winning streak.

With an electric atmosphere in Lovelady’s Lion Gymnasium, there was a playoff feel in the air as the Sandies were able to rally from a four-point deficit at the half to defeat the Lions 62-50.

The Sandies would be the team to jump out to the early lead behind the play of Patrick Walker and Demelius Simpson. The duo would stake the Sandies an early advantage before Jacolby Simpson would pull the Lions ahead. Lovelady would cool down the Sandies offense on the defensive end, and would finish the quarter strong to take an 18-14 lead going into the second quarter.

The second quarter would be highlighted by a defensive battle between the two teams. Grapeland and Lovelady would manage just 11 points apiece, as the defensive tug-of-war would lead to a stalemate. That stalemate would be enough for the Lions to hold on to their four-point advantage, as the teams would go into the half with Lovelady holding on to a 29-25 lead.

The Sandies would start the second half off with a bang as Patrick Walker would kick off the scoring with a monster slam dunk over a pair of Lovelady defenders that would ignite the Sandies second half run. While the Sandies offense wasn’t firing on all pistons, the defense suffocated the Lions, holding the home team to just seven points in the third quarter.

That would open the door for the Sandies to take their first lead since the first quarter, and that is exactly what they would do. Grapeland would outscore Lovelady 12-7 in the third quarter, giving the visiting Sandies a 37-36 lead going into the fourth quarter.

That would be the closest the game would get as the Sandies would kick things up another gear in the fourth quarter. The Sandies offense would torch the Lions for 25 points in the final quarter, while holding Lovelady to just 10 points. It would be a Walker show with Patrick Walker scoring eight of his 18 points with Tylphus Walker adding six points to help the Sandies surge past the Lions in the final quarter.

Patrick Walker would lead the Sandies with 18 points on the night, 12 which came in the second half. Demelius Simpson would finish the night with 14 points despite battling foul trouble throughout the game. Demetri Walker would also reach double figures scoring, as the sophomore guard would score 10 points.

Quadarrius Whitt would score nine points with senior Tylphus Walker chipping in seven points to help pace the Sandies offense. Javonte Woods and Cameron Boyd would round out the Sandies offensive attack with two points each.

Sophomore Jacolby Simpson would lead the Lions offensively, scoring a game-high 19 points. Senior guard Jordan Driskell would join him in double figures with 10 points on the night.

Senior point guard Tre Sherman would score nine points offensively, as the Sandies were able to bottle up the explosive guard. Taylor Rich and Taylor Therwhanger rounded out the Lions scoring with six points apiece.

The Sandies were off on Tuesday night, but will kick off the second half of district play on Friday, January 27 when they travel to face the Latexo Tigers. The Tigers are coming off their first district win of the year, and will look to avenge an 83-38 loss to the Sandies in the district opening game.

Grapeland will follow that up by hosting the Alto Yellowjackets on Tuesday, January 31 when they host the Alto Yellowjackets. Grapeland defeated Alto 82-34 in their first meeting of district play.

Lovelady traveled to face Latexo to wrap up the first half of district play on Tuesday night. The Lions will return home on Friday, January 27 as they look to make it a clean sweep over the third place Slocum Mustangs. Lovelady charged back from a halftime deficit to defeat the Mustangs 57-49 in their first meeting of district play.

On Tuesday, January 31 the Lions will host Neches in a non-district showdown before ending district play with three straight games.

For pictures and a complete recap of the Lions district game against Latexo, as well as other area basketball news, check back in The Messenger. Also follow The Messenger on Facebook and check out our website at www.messenger-news.com. Chris Boothe can be reached at cboothe@messenger-news.com.