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High School Basketball

War Eagles Shock Rebels in OT, Lady Rebels Cruise

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McKENZIE (December 14) — McKenzie High School hosted West Carroll Friday for a pair of District 11A basketball contests. The Lady Rebels pulled away early and coasted to a 46-28 win. In the nightcap, the Rebels began the game with a 9-0 run and led by eight after the first quarter. The War Eagles matched McKenzie in both the second and third frames, then closed the gap in the fourth. The rally culminated in a wild final play, punctuated by a game-tying, buzzer-beating three by War Eagle Jeremiah Bryant. In overtime, West Carroll defended well, attacked the paint and hit enough free throws to come away with the win, 69-62.
At halftime of the opener, the McKenzie Middle School Rebels and Lady Rebels were recognized on the court for winning their respective county championships and for outstanding regular seasons.
McKenzie Lady Rebels 46, West Carroll Lady War Eagles 28
The Lady Rebels jumped out to a 15-6 lead after the opening frame. Anna Callahan led with eight points, and Lilly Bennett scored four. Mi’Kayla Gill had a pair, and Shelby Davis hit a free throw. Lady War Eagles Gracie Cunningham, Denver Brooks and Alyssa Butler each had a pair.
McKenzie added to the lead with a 12-2 advantage in the second quarter, led by Whitley Smith with six points, including a three-pointer. Bennett again scored four, and Callahan added a pair. Amaya Thompson had West Carroll’s two points. At the half, McKenzie led 27-8.
The Lady Rebels had a 9-6 edge in the third, led by Bennett with three points. Davis, Smith and Callahan each added a pair. Lady War Eagle Tatym Keymon scored four, and Brooks added a pair. Entering the final frame, McKenzie led 36-14.

West Carroll outscored the Lady Rebels 14-10 in the fourth for a closer final score. Macey Cunningham led with five points, including a three-pointer. G. Cunningham also hit a three, and Brooks, Keymon and Thompson each added a pair. Davis and Callahan each scored four for McKenzie, and Dani Dyer had a pair. Lady Rebel Anna Callahan led all scorers with 16 points. Lilly Bennett scored eleven. Denver Brooks and Tatym Keymon led West Carroll with six points each.
War Eagles 69, Rebels 62 (OT)
McKenzie led 17-9 after the first frame, led by Lucas King with six points. Ben Austin scored five, including a three-pointer, and Lazarick Hill, Nate Whitsell and Caleb Gill each had a pair. War Eagle Aaron Heckert scored seven, and Luke Moore had a pair.
The second quarter was a 13-13 wash. Austin led the Rebels with seven points, including another three. Hill scored four, and Whitsell added a pair. Moore and Dawson Hardwick scored four each for West Carroll, Tyson Keymon hit a three, and Jeremiah Bryant had a pair. At the half, McKenzie led 30-22. The third was an even 14-14 to leave the gap unchanged. Moore led West Carroll with eight points, and Josh Clark scored six. King had eight for the Rebels, including a pair of threes. Hill scored five, including a three, and Whitsell hit a freebie. Heading into the final frame, McKenzie led 44-36.
The War Eagles needed a 22-14 advantage in the fourth to force overtime. Trailing by three points in the waning seconds, West Carroll drove to the basket looking for a quick two. Rebel Nate Whitsell swatted the shot away, and Tyler Spivey dove and scooped the ball back in bounds to prevent the War Eagles from setting up an inbound play. The loose ball ended up in the hands of Bryant, who fired off a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 58-58. In the quarter, Moore and Bryant each scored seven, Moore with a three-pointer and Bryant with a pair of them. Clark had four points, Keymon hit a three, and Heckert hit a freebie. King scored five for McKenzie, including a three-pointer. Austin had four, Hill had three, and Whitsell added a pair.
West Carroll won the overtime tip-off, but failed to score on the first possession. After a McKenzie miss, Keymon drained a three to give the War Eagles their first lead of the contest. Bryant locked down King to force a five-second violation, then the Rebels committed a pair of fouls to send Heckert to the line for one-and-one. He hit the first to up the lead to four, but missed the second. On the other end, Heckert drew a charge to give the War Eagles the ball again. Hill stole the ball, and Moore fouled to stop an easy score by Gill. Gill missed the free throws, and McKenzie fouled on the rebound. Clark missed the first of a one-and-one, but Austin committed his fifth foul on the rebound and was forced to exit. Bryant missed both from the line, but Clark came down with the rebound. Bryant attacked the basket and was fouled, ending the drought with two made shots. King then ended McKenzie drought with a pull-up three. On back-to-back possessions, Bryant and Keymon were perfect at the line. Rebel Lucas King led all scorers with 23 points, including four three-pointers. Ben Austin scored 16 with a pair of threes, and Lazarick Hill had 14 with a three. Luke Moore led West Carroll with 22 points, including a three-pointer. Jeremiah Bryant scored 13 with a pair of threes. Tyson Keymon had eleven with a trio of threes, and Josh Clark scored ten.

War Eagles, Rebels, Basketball