In a rough and tumble battle, the McLennan Highlanders fell to the Grayson Vikings 79-63 on the road.
Evan Chatman began the scoring for the Highlanders with a fade-away jumper. McLennan led 5-4 with 15:12 to go in the first half as both teams struggled to find a rhythm on the offensive end of the court. Joseph Mayberry and Ari Gooch combined for a 5-0 McLennan run to put the Highlanders up 10-4 with 13:36 to play in the half. Grayson responded with a 9-0 run to lead 13-10 with 9:17 to go. McLennan rallied to tie the game at 15 but Grayson took control down the stretch. The Vikings used an 11-0 run to pull away but the Highlanders continued to fight. Grayson led 29-19 with two minutes to go. McLennan ended the half on a 7-0 run capped by an Amare Banks at the buzzer to cut the lead back to three at intermission, 29-26.
Grayson extended the lead back to double digits at 41-31 with 14:09 remaining in the game. The Vikings pushed the lead to 14 but the Highlanders didn't back down. Behind strong shooting from Evan Chatman, McLennan cut the lead back to nine multiple times down the stretch. That would prove to be as close as the Highlanders could get.
Evan Chatman led the Highlanders with 30 points.
McLennan: Rontavious Blackshear 2 1-3 6; Joseph Mayberry 2 1-2 5; Kardae Turner 0 3-6 3; Amare Banks 3 2-2 9; Ari Gooch 2 2-2 8; Keegan Rowell 0 0-0 0; Evan Chatman 8 11-13 30; Frederick Rogers, III 0 0-0 0; Joe Burgess 0 0-2 0; Maximilian Blank 1 0-0 2; Totals: 18 20-30 63.
Grayson: Nicholas Anthony 8 1-2 23; Terrance Ramirez 4 8-9 18; Jordan Williams 1 1-2 3; Kevin Paul Jr 4 2-4 10; Croix Cox 0 4-6 4; Josh Barlow 3 5-6 13; Marc Ferdy 3 1-3 7; Totals: 23 23-35 79.
Halftime score: Grayson 29, McLennan 26; 3-pointers: McLennan 7 (Chatman 3, Gooch 2, Banks 1, Blackshear 1), Grayson10 (Anthony 6, Ramirez 2, Barlow 2); Total fouls: McLennan 29, Grayson 21; Fouled out: Ferdy (Grayson), Gooch (McLennan), Burgess (McLennan), Cox (Grayson), Paul (Grayson); Record: McLennan 21-5 (8-2).
