Lovejoy girls, Forest Park boys among local teams impressing in holiday tournaments By Luke Strickland
JONESBORO — Several Clayton basketball programs participated in holiday tournament this week to close 2016.
Girls
The Lovejoy Lady Wildcats won the championship game of the Chick-fil-A Invitational at Tri-Cities High School this week. Lovejoy topped Grady and North Clayton in its opening two games behind strong play from Amber Thornton, who scored 15 and 19 points, respectively.
The Lady Wildcats captured the tournament championship Thursday with a 70-64 win over Douglass. Thornton stole the show again, scoring 21 points to lead the team.
North Clayton bested Whitewater 69-44 on Tuesday before falling to Lovejoy on Wednesday.
Jonesboro played in the Grayson Ram Classic this week, losing to Buford 64-44 on Tuesday and to Rockdale County 37-36 on Thursday. The Lady Cardinals will enter 2017 with a 7-6 overall record.
Morrow traveled to Moultrie to compete in the Vereen Rehabilitation Shootout. The Lady Mustangs dropped their opener to Colquitt County Tuesday by a score of 58-54 despite Da’Ja Green’s 27 points. Morrow played Lowndes on Wednesday and fell 59-53. Green dished out nine assists, while Sierra Beechum scored 24 points.
The Lady Mustangs ended the tournament Thursday with a 37-21 loss to Norland (FL).
The Riverdale Lady Raiders took part this week in the Newnan Holiday Classic. Riverdale fell to Miller Grove 60-54 on Wednesday and lost 56-43 to Kennesaw Mountain on Thursday. The Lady Raiders played Coretta Scott Young YWLA Friday after press time.
Boys
After returning from the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. last week, the Jonesboro Cardinals hit the road again this week to compete in the Beach Ball Classsic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Cardinals dropped their first game to Westchester (CA) Monday by a score of 55-43 before rebounding with a 61-33 victory Tuesday over McQuaid Jesuit (N.Y.). Jonesboro played Providence (FL) Friday after press time.
Forest Park continued its run of good play this in the Newnan Holiday Classic. The Panthers topped Hiram 49-46 on Wednesday, but fell to Park Crossing (AL) 75-57 Thursday. Forest Park took on Newnan after press time Friday.
Morrow traveled to Allatoona High this week to play in the Lake City Classic. The Mustangs dropped two close games, beginning Wednesday with a 59-55 loss to Carrollton. Dijon Brown led Morrow with 19 points. The Mustangs played Central-Macon on Thursday and fell 54-48. Morrow will enter 2017 with a 2-10 overall record and on an eight-game losing streak.
Mundy’s Mill traveled to LaGrange this week to play in the LaGrange Toyota Classic. The Tigers beat Harris County 70-63 on Wednesday behind 29 points from Tyree Keith. Rayquan Brown added 14 points in the win. Mundy’s Mill then lost to state-ranked LaGrange on Thursday by a score of 86-67. Keith led the team in scoring again with 16 points.
North Clayton went 0-3 at the Tucker Holiday Shootout, beginning with a 52-50 loss to Southwest DeKalb on Monday. The Eagles lost to state-ranked Greenforest 68-40 on Tuesday before falling to Brainerd (TN) 57-48 on Wednesday. North Clayton will enter 2017 with a 5-8 overall record.
Riverdale also competed in the Tucker Holiday Shootout, headlined by Tuesday’s 72-70 loss to state-ranked Henry County. Senior Jonathan Foster scored 36 points in the loss.
