The McLennan Highlanders cruised to an 86-61 conference-opening victory over the Weatherford Coyotes this afternoon at The Highlands.
Weatherford opened the scoring with a bucket from the paint by Tyson Whybrew which would prove to be the Coyotes only lead of the game. A Joseph Mayberry jumper tied the game at two, and an Ari Gooch 3-pointer from the corner put McLennan on top 5-2. The teams kept the game close through the first five minutes of play. The Highlanders led 14-10 with 14:48 to play in the first half. A 7-0 run over the next two minutes extended the lead to 11, 17-10. McLennan continued to hold a double-digit lead at 32-22 with just over eight minutes to go. A Gooch drive to the basket sparked an11-0 Highlander run the broke the game wide open. McLennan's defense held the Coyotes to just five points in that final eight minutes of play to make it a 23-point lead at intermission, 50-27.
The Highlanders continued to roll through the second half, leading by as much as 29. Weatherford battled around the eight-minute mark, trimming the lead back to 21 several times but that is all the Coyotes could muster.
McLennan controlled the game with strong shooting from long range. The squad combined to hit 11 from behind the 3-point arc including Evan Chatman and Rontavious Blackshear with four each.
Blackshear led the Highlanders with 26 points, and Chatman scored 16. Gooch added 12 points, and Joseph Mayberry and Amare Banks chipped in 10 each.
Weatherford: Adrian Shackleton 2 1-2 5; Marvin Brimage 1 0-0 2; Antwan Wilson 4 5-5 13; Braylon Crosby 1 1-1 3; Larry Elting Jr. 2 1-4 5; Acuel Deng 1 1-2 4; Handy Toussaint 8 0-1 19; Gordon Magok 1 2-2 4; Tyson Whybrew 2 0-1 4; Marcus-Myen King-Danchie 0 0-0 0; Wayne Franklin 1 0-0 2; Totals: 24 11-18 61.
McLennan: Rontavious Blackshear 9 4-4 26; Joseph Mayberry 4 2-3 10; Kardae Turner 2 0-0 4; Amare Banks 4 0-0 10; Ari Gooch 4 3-3 12; Keegan Rowell 0 0-0 0; Evan Chatman 6 0-0 16; John McQueen 0 0-0 0; Frederick Rogers, III 4 0-0 8; John Ateny 0 0-0 0; Totals: 33 9-10 86.
Halftime score: McLennan 50, Weatherford 27; 3-pointers: Weatherford2 (Deng 1, Toussaint 1); McLennan 11 (Blackshear 4, Chatman 4, Banks 2, Gooch 1); Total fouls: Weatherford 7, McLennan 17; Record: McLennan 14-3 (1-0).
