Vance tops T.A. Dugger

By Ivan Sanders
Star Correspondent

   Whenever Vance and T.A. Dugger get together for football, you can expect a slobberknocking affair. It's no different on the hardwood.
   In a game that more resembled a scrum in rugby, the Vance Jr. High Vikings boarded the bus for Bristol with a 41-24 win, while the Jr. Cyclones are wondering what it's going to take to pull out of their tailspin.
   The Jr. 'Clones actually led after the first six minutes of the contest 10-8 behind the strong play of Derrick Nave, who scored seven in the quarter. For Vance, Ty Harmon and Daniel Booher netted four each to keep the Vikings within striking distance of the Cyclones.
   The second period was the turning point of the contest as Vance gradually wore T.A. Dugger down with a smothering full-court press which resulted in several turnovers. While the defense was doing their jobs, the Jr. Vikings offense started to click.
   Once again, Harmon and Booher nailed four points each with Tyler Harrison adding three for the Vikings. The Cyclones could only manage to put six on the scoreboard in the quarter, led by J.C. Atkinson's four points and two from Caleb Trivett. At the half, Vance took a five-point lead into the locker room.
   The Cyclones came out with frostbite fingers in the third as they were ice cold, shooting one-for-seven from the field for three points. The Vikings were nine points better in the quarter and entered the fourth with a comfortable 33-19 lead.
   After seeing that the Cyclones didn't have much spark left, Coach James Jacobs decided to put some fresh faces in the contest with 3:10 left. The Vikings also emptied their bench to give some playing time to the reserves.
   The horn sounded with the Vikings carrying their first win of the season back home to the tune of 41-24. Hammon took high scoring honors for the Vikings, scoring 13 on the evening followed by Booher with 12.
   Nave paced the Cyclones on the night with seven points, followed by Atkinson with four, Aaron Bray three, and Ryan Gough three. Three other Cyclones scored two points on the evening.
   In the seventh-grade tilt, the Jr. Cyclones salvaged a victory for the home team, taking a 40-20 victory. Austin Taylor had an outstanding night from the floor, shooting 7-12 for a game-high 16 points. Travis Bishop also played a superb game as he netted 10 points in the winners column.
   The Vance Jr. Viking seventh graders had nine players who scored a deuce a piece. Preston Smith and Weston Isaacs were like flies on jelly as they constantly hounded the Viking offense into several turnovers.
   Tim Franklin contributed four points for the winners along with three each from Cory Hilton and Josh Guinn.