Rebels find way without starting point guard

Published 1:34 pm Thursday, December 13, 2012

Man up: The Thorsby defense, including Houston Daniel (5) tries to prevent B.B. Comer from scoring on Tuesday.

By James Dubuisson | Special to the Advertiser

The Thorsby Rebels boys and girls basketball teams split their area openers against B.B. Comer on Tuesday. The girls fell, 46-30, while the guys pulled out a 60-49 victory.

The THS girls struggled to score throughout the game as they did not score more than eight points in any of the four quarters.

Sabrina Ellison led the team with eight points and scored four out of Thorsby’s six fourth-quarter points.

B.B. Comer struggled to score in the first half as well as they only led 18-17 at halftime. The visitors picked up the offense as they outscored the Rebels 35-14 in the second half.

Thorsby’s boys team was more successful in their game, outscoring the Tigers in the final three quarters of the game. The game was tied 9-9 at the end of the first, but the Rebels held a three-point lead at the half.

THS headed into the third quarter leading 24-21. Comer kept the game close heading into the fourth, trailing 41-37. THS pulled away in the fourth as they built a double-digit lead early in the quarter and held it for the rest of the game.

The Rebels were led by a trio of seniors as Houston Daniel had a team high 24 points, Nathan Oldroyd scored 19 and B.B. Evans had 11 points and an array of blocked shots and rebounds.

The Tigers’ offense was led by Darius Hale and Kendrick Kirksey, who scored 17 and 11, respectively.

The Rebels were missing their starting point guard, Parker Bryan, who was injured in the Billingsley game on Dec. 6. Bryan will be out for a couple of weeks, according to the Rebels’ head coach Billy Jackson.

Jackson said that the play of replacement point guard Jagger Cook and post play was the difference maker in the game.

“My hat’s off to the kids,” Jackson said. “Their attitudes are good. They work hard, and it shows.”

Comer’s sideline took issue with the referees the whole game. The Tigers were called for 23 personal fouls compared to the 10 personal fouls called on the Rebels.

Jackson said the Rebels (6-3) need to improve on free throw shooting and cut down on turnovers.

“We need to learn when to run and when not to run,” Jackson explained about the Rebels’ transition offense.