Blue Devils make early lead hold against Nettleton

“I thought we were flat since we hadn’t practiced and we just came in to play,” Booneville coach Michael Smith said. “Nettleton shot the ball extremely well, and I was not expecting that. They did some things defensively that really slowed us down and had a great game plan. I was so proud of our kids because there was a point or two where Nettleton could have made a run and made it interesting, and we shut the door and made some plays at the right time to stop a run.”

Booneville jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead that included four points from Landon Brown, but Nettleton was able to keep it close in the first, cutting it to five twice.

Back-to-back buckets from Dicorean McGee and Dalton Jackson put the Blue Devils up 19-10 at the end of the first.

Brown picked up where he left off in the first, scoring four early points, and James Dukes got going to give Booneville a double digit lead at 27-15 off his putback. The Tigers cut it to eight on a Zavian Dilworth three, but a Dukes layup and a Kedrick Simmons dunk widened the gap out to 11 at 37-26 before Jamarion Ball sank a three for Nettleton to make it 37-29 at the half.

The Blue Devils started out the third strong with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back buckets from Jackson to open the third. Simmons hit a layup before going out of the game with an injury.

“When he went down, I didn’t know how they were going to respond, but we had some kids that made some critical plays and stepped up,” Smith said.

Alec Nunley hit a long two-point shot, then a three for the largest lead thus far at 50-34. Dukes’ three-point play pushed that advantage to 17 before a quick 5-0 Nettleton run to end the quarter made it 55-43.

Booneville kept a double digit lead until Dilworth’s layup cut it to nine at 60-51. The Blue Devils were able to answer with a pair from the line from both Dukes and Jackson.

The Tigers cut the lead to eight twice with an alley oop from Nunley answering the first time and a layup from Brown the second time. Jackson secured the win with a layup with 11 seconds to go.

Dukes finished with a double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Jackson with 15 and Brown with 11 were also in double figures. Jackson finished with six assists and Brown had six rebounds. Simmons and Nunley added nine points each.

“James was really active on the glass, and people have a tough time matching up with him, especially when he’s that active,” Smith said. “He’s been as good as we have seen him the last three games or so. Landon is a tremendous shooter, but he affected this game in not shooting and driving to the goal and getting offensive rebounds. He made a couple of really good loose ball plays that led to baskets and had some good deflections. That little bit of extra effort was the difference in the game. He has a tremendous upside as a player.”

(G) Booneville 57, Nettleton 23

It was another dominating win for the Lady Devils, who improved to 13-0 on the season.

It was a close game in the beginning, but Booneville ended the first quarter on a 13-0 run to lead 23-9.

“We started out down 4-0, and they made two really good plays to start the game. Then we went on a run and just played really well,” Smith said. “We shot the ball well, shared it well, and they did a couple of things defensively that it took a while to make adjustments to. We had about six or seven players who scored between six and 10 points at the half, and when you can do that and not rely on one player, it makes you so much better offensively. I think the kids took this as a game to see where we’re at, and they responded well to that.”

Hallie Burns and Kaylee Johnson sank three-pointers in the period, and Burns and Ava Kate Smith also added a pair of layups.

The Lady Devils cracked down on defense in the second quarter, holding Nettleton to just four points and opening their lead up to 41-13 to put the game out of reach. Saniyah Cook did much of the scoring in the second, but Johnson added another three and Burns, Jadyn Lindsey and Chloe Ruth also added points.

“Chloe played her best game of the season, and she made a really difficult left handed shot at the end of the first quarter that not many people are going to make,” Smith said. “She missed her whole eighth grade year and then dealt with a shoulder separation last year during her freshman year, so she’s figuring it out about how hard you have to play and learning to believe in herself.”

Booneville shot 62 percent from the floor in the first half and had just seven turnovers, while forcing several themselves.

In the third, Booneville kept its foot on the gas early with eight more points from Cook, a three from Burns and a layup by Smith.

In the fourth, the Lady Devils emptied their bench and with the running clock, neither team did much scoring.

Cook was the only player in double figures with 16 points and adding five blocks. Smith and Burns had eight each, while Johnson finished with seven points and five assists.

“We had a lot of kids step up off the bench,” Smith said. “We got Kylee Johnson back against Holly Springs, but we’re being careful with her and keeping her on a minutes limit to ease her back in. She helps us tremendously, and I cannot explain how hard she has worked to get back. It’s a humbling thing to watch, and I’m looking forward to seeing her getting back to the level she can play at even if it takes longer.”