HIGH-SCHOOL

Tigers fall short in league finale

MAURICE PATTON
Mt. Pleasant's Keshawn Hudson (11) gets inside the Richland defense, as Trey Helton (left) and Montel Bobbitt contest his shot during Friday's District 10-A matchup.

MT. PLEASANT — Hitting three 3-pointers in less than six minutes to open Friday night’s District 10-A matchup with visiting Richland may not have been the best thing for Mt. Pleasant.

The Tigers converted just one shot from beyond the arc the rest of the way and attempted only five free throws in an eventual 51-45 loss that cost them sole possession of the league regular-season title.

“We made some 3s early that were ‘fool’s gold’,” Mt. Pleasant coach Chris Carney said after the loss, which left his team (18-7, 6-2) tied with Santa Fe — a 77-71 winner Friday at Culleoka — for the top spot in the final district standings. “The way they guarded us, they gave us the open shot and guarded the drive more, and I think we settled.

“Five free throws shows our lack of (offensive) aggression. When we’re playing our best, we’re getting to the line 15 to 20 times a game.”

The stagnant offense worked in favor of the Raiders (14-9, 5-3), who were able to dictate pace and establish their own attack. Richland controlled the contest throughout, leading 24-20 at halftime and extending that margin to 32-25 midway through the third period behind the work of Montel Bobbitt and Daniel Nicholson in the paint.

Mt. Pleasant was sporadically effective in transition, but never got much going in its halfcourt game and Richland came up with key stops whenever the hosts did put themselves in position to tie the game down the stretch.

“We just need to attack the rim when we see the shots aren’t falling — attack the rim, draw some fouls,” senior guard Keshawn Hudson said after scoring a team-high 15 points in the loss. “That’s what we didn’t do. We were settling for shots. We played a game we aren’t used to.”

Both Mt. Pleasant’s league losses came at home, as Santa Fe won a 66-63 barnburner at the W.C. Johnson Gymnasium two weeks ago.

“Back to the grind we go,” Hudson said. “We’ll see that team two more, three more times. We just need to come with that physicality, that ‘attack’, whoever we play.”

Mt. Pleasant and Santa Fe will have a coin flip for the top seed in the upcoming district tournament. Richland will be the tourney No. 3 seed.

Nicholson posted a game-high 18 points to lead four double-digit scorers for the Raiders. Jakob Smith added 13 points and Kentra Frierson 10 for Mt. Pleasant.

? Lady Raiders secure No. 2 seed: With three double-digit scorers and six 3-pointers, Richland (14-10, 6-2) avoided a potential tie for second place in the district by defeating host Mt. Pleasant 69-40. Jesse Jennings led the way with a game-high 18 points. The Lady Tigers (2-21, 0-8) were led offensively by senior Graciee English, who scored 14 points.

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Richland girls 69, Mt. Pleasant 40

R 24 23 13 9 — 69

M 14 8 10 8 — 40

Richland (69) — Katie Garner 11, Jesse Jennings 18, Kristen Garner 7, Maggie Perry 11, Alli Garner 6, Gracie Adams 2, Halle Braden 5, Marti Hood 2, Danica Bridgers 5, A.C. Hewitt 2

Mt. Pleasant (40) — Kielee Bradley 3, Baleigh Gray 11, Emily Crossman 9, Caleigh Chalk 1, Graciee English 14, Mariy Rogers 2

3-pointers — Richland 6 (Kr. Garner, Perry 3, Braden, Bridgers), Mt. Pleasant 3 (Bradley, Crossman 2)

Richland boys 51, Mt. Pleasant 45

R 13 11 10 17 — 51

M 11 9 9 16 — 45

Richland (51) — Logan Helton 12, Montel Bobbitt 11, Daniel Nicholson 18, Trey Luna 10

Mt. Pleasant (45) — Kentra Frierson 10, Tip Marlow 2, Keshawn Hudson 15, Kayne Forest 3, Collyn Foshee 2, Jakob Smith 13

3-pointers — Richland 3 (Nicholson, Luna 2), Mt. Pleasant 4 (Frierson, Hudson 2, Forest)