The Lee Academy boys and girls both had chances to win at home against Indianola on Thursday night, but fell short.
The Fillies lost 48-45, while the Colts lost 58-41.
The girls scored 10 unanswered points to take a 28-22 halftime lead thanks to back-to-back Anna Byrd 3-pointers and trailed 44-43 late in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Colonels attempted to run down the clock forcing the Fillies to foul. Indianola extended its lead to 48-43.
Shelton Johnson scored a 2-pointer with less than one second remaining on the clock and coach Michael Peckham called a timeout. However, Indianola was able to run down the clock and secure the victory.
“We might be undefeated if we stop a game at halftime because we’ve had our trouble in the third quarter, but we were tied going into the fourth quarter,” Peckham said. “We had chances. Even down at the end, they went to a run and jump. My two better decision makers and ball handlers, Emily (Moser) and Anna, made some unforced turnovers. You have to give Indianola credit for that.
“To be honest, I really think there should be a shot clock in high school. As it is, that’s part of the game. Coaches use it to their advantage and I can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same thing if I didn’t have the lead going down. I was proud of the girls effort. I feel really bad for them because they played so hard. Give credit to Indianola. They came in here and they made plays when they needed to.”
Byrd led the Fillies with 19 points, while Brett Wilson led the Colts with 11 points. Wilson connected on three 3-pointers.
In Friday’s game at Marvell Academy, the Colts won 84-55.
Wilson had 20 points, D.J. Vassel followed with 17, Seth Campbell had 14, and Phillip Brownlee had 10.
The Fillies lost 66-60.
Byrd had 27 points followed by Moser with 14.
The junior high boys won 56-31 with Vassel’s 20 points leading the way.
The junior high girls lost 33-18 with Faith Carter Bailey’s eight points leading the way.
The Colts (7-13, 0-7) lost at Kirk Academy on Tuesday 46-33.
Wilson and Vassel scored eight apiece.
The Fillies (10-10, 1-6) earned their first district win of the season with a 37-35 victory. Moser led the way with 19 points.
The junior high boys (9-9) won 24-18 with Vassel’s nine points leading the way.
The junior high girls (5-13) lost 42-32 with Maggie Etheridge scoring 14 points and Bailey following with 10.
“I feel for all of my teams because I think they’re playing really hard. I cannot ask any more out of the varsity girls basketball team,” Peckham said. “They are playing with everything they have. They’re trying to execute. To be honest with you, I really thought tonight was the night we were going to get one. We were in position.
“The boys, we’ve had a rough year. It was tough to have graduation.”
Three starters from last season graduated and Evan Watts was lost to an injury.
“So we lose four starters to graduation,” Peckham said. “That makes it tough. We’re still trying to learn our way. As you can see, we’re not a very good defensive man-to-man team, so if you don’t have a lead and you have to go to man, it costs us. Abundance of issues for us. The kids played hard.”
Peckham said the main focus is to be prepared for the postseason. All schools get a spot in the district tournament.
“We’re playing for a lot,” he said. “The season is not over. It’s just getting younger kids to understand that.”
