Post Photo by Rickey Clardy Jaxon Williams of the Vikings scores despite pressure from the Forrest defense. Williams had seven points off the bench in the Community win.
By RICKEY CLARDY
Sports Writer
UNIONVILLE – There was no shortage of points for the Community Vikings in their District 9-AA game against the Forrest Rockets Friday night.
The Vikings scored at least 19 points in all four quarters and saw 11 players reach the scoring column as Community (10-13, 2-3) set a high-water mark for points during the season in a 94-60 win.
“All of the guys were focused and ready to go tonight,” Coach Robbie Davis of the Vikings said. “We felt like we let one slip away when we went there, so the guys knew Forrest was good enough to beat us.”
With Landon Lovvorn scoring 12 points in the opening quarter, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead.
Community had two 7-0 runs and took a 24-16 lead to the second quarter.
Despite the Rockets having a hot hand in the half, the Vikings were still able to extend their lead in the quarter.
Maki Fleming led six Vikings with six points as Community took a 43-31 lead to the intermission.
Even with the Vikings being hot from the field in the first half, Community was able to find another gear and reached the 70-point mark in the third quarter.
Fleming had nine points while Austin Stickler netted eight and Landon Berman added six as the Vikings kept Forrest from scoring for over three minutes and used an 11-0 run to take a 60-40 advantage with 3:28 remaining.
The Vikings finished with 28 points in the quarter and took a 71-46 lead to the final quarter.
“At Forrest at halftime, I told them if we didn’t come out in the third and play and extend the lead, they could come back and they did,” Davis said.
“So tonight the guys knew how important it was to play four quarters.”
The Viking reserves played a big role in the quarter as Jaxon Williams scored seven points and Johnathon Lawwell had five points off the bench.
Lovvorn also added five points as the Community substitutes played the last 4:32 of the game. The Vikings took their biggest lead at 91-55 with 2:40 left as the remainder of the game was played with a running clock.
“We have played a lot of guys all year long and now it’s starting to pay off,” Davis said.
Lovvorn led three Vikings in double figures with 19 points.
Fleming added 18 points while Stickler had 14. The Viking bench contributed 30 of the 94 points.
Tristan Goad had 21 points and Bray McCown added 18 to lead the Rockets.
The Vikings were 10-of-13 at the free throw line while Forrest was 4-of-4.
“Forrest shot it well tonight,” Davis said. “They made 10 threes and moved the ball great.”
“Our guys did a good job of attacking the basket and getting to the line and making our free throws,” Davis added.
Community starts a 3-game week with a District 9-AA game at Cannon County Monday night. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
“We have three district games to end the season and two of them are on the road,” Davis said. “It will be a challenging week for us, but I think our guys will come ready to compete.”
Forrest 16 15 15 14 — 60
Community 24 19 28 23 — 94
Forrest: Tristan Goad 21, Bray McCown 18, Jimmy Bond 8, Ben Villazon 6, Houston Matlock, Josh Doud 4, Jon Hightower 3, Kelley Toombs, Elija Leverette, Andruw Myers.
Community: Landon Lovvorn 19, Maki Fleming 18, Austin Stickler 14, Landon Berman 9, Charlie Haskins 4, Johnathon Lawwell 8, Jaxon Williams 7, Judd O’Neal 6, Joshua Powers 3, Moe Berman 3, Zachary Leathers 3, Hunter Hill, Carter Daniel, Logan Reed.
3-Point goals: Forrest (10): McCown 4, Goad 3, Bond 2, Hightower; Community (7): Lawwell 2, Lovvorn, Fleming, Williams, M. Berman, Leathers.
Halftime score: Community 43, Forrest 31.
