By JIMMY GILLIAM
pressbox1.com

ATWOOD - Eight schools took part in the annual Hall of Champions basketball classic at West Carroll this weekend.

Teams participating were Camden, Clarksburg, Dresden, Gleason, Madison Academic, Trenton, Trinity Christian Academy, and West Carroll. The two-day event ushers in the start of the high school basketball season in the area and gives the teams an opportunity to fine tune their skills.

On November 20, the Lady Lions of Camden took on the TCA Lady Lions in the opening game. The game was a seesaw battle of two great teams and a victor could not be decided in regulation. In overtime, TCA’s Hailey Elliot sank a free throw with :01.7 remaining to give Trinity Christian Academy a 70-69 victory over the Camden Lady Lions.

Elliot led TCA with 19 points followed by Shelby Cummings with 17 points; Marie Yarbro with 14 points; Ashley Rossom added nine; Taylor Perry scored six and Emily Clement had five.

Camden's Amanda Brandenburg torched the nets for 32 points followed by Keara White's 19-point effort. Heather Capps scored 11, Jessica Bannister had five and Alicia Edgil deposited two.

The men took to the hardwood next as the Camden Lions took on the TCA Lions. Camden trailed by as much as 17 points midway through the third quarter, but fought back to defeat Trinity Christian Academy 75-68.

Justin Weed led the Camden Lions with 33 points followed by Kyle Herndon with 17 points. Cody Adams with 12, Dakota Summers with eight, Patrick Hassell and Taylor Douglas with two each and Jordan Murphy with one.

Roger Tatum led the Lions of Trinity Christian Academy with 15 points followed by Justin Perry with 14, Nathan Montgomery with 13, Jabriel Washington with nine, Benji Sparks with eight, Wilson Morris with four, Patrick McGrath with three and Andy Hall with two.

The third game of the evening pitted the Lady Golden Tide of Trenton Peabody against the West Carroll Lady War Eagles. Peabody answered every West Carroll scoring surge with more points as Trenton never trailed in the contest. Although Jessica Carter scored 34 points in the game, the Lady War Eagles found themselves in foul trouble late, sending Peabody to the line eight times in the fourth quarter. Trenton capitalized on the opportunities as they were 9-of-14 from the charity stripe to secure the 66-60 victory.

Raechelle Bolden led Peabody with 15 points followed by Laquita Luten and Loma Hudson with 13 each, Jasmine Watson with nine, Calandra Luten with eight, Brianna Harper and Maureen Johnson with four each.

Carter led the Lady War Eagles with 34 points followed by Madison Lane with 11, Nikki Taylor with eight, Morgan Woodard with five and Danielle Crocker with two.

The Golden Tide of Trenton took on the West Carroll War Eagles in the nightcap. The fast-paced game lived up to the fans expectations as the teams combined for 198 points. Trailing throughout the first half, Peabody tied the game at 31-31 on a three-pointer with 5:23 remaining in the first half. Although the War Eagles led 53-47 at the break, the Golden Tide’s shooting ability from behind the arch kept the game within reach.

West Carroll led 64-58 with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter before Trenton mounted a comeback. Three-pointers by Corbin Branson, Jeremy Vaughn, Korensky Simpson gave Peabody a 75-72 lead after three quarters.

West Carroll knotted things up at 80-80 on a three-pointer by Clint McClain with 5:50 remaining, but down the stretch Peabody hit 13-of-20 from the line for a 102-96 victory.

Steven Williams led Trenton with 27 points followed by Jeremy Vaughn with 17, Corbin Branson with 16, Korensky Simpson with 11, Dalton Craddock with eight, Geoffrey Crawley with seven, Jake Lewis with six, Adrian Buchanan with four, Jarron Young and Jonathon Glover with three each.

Thomas Greer led the West Carroll with 25 points followed by Xavier Cunningham with 23, Clint McClain with 21, Justin Scruggs with 11, Hayden McClain and Danney Williamson with six each, Brett Singleton and Donovan Wolfe with two apiece.

Eight more games were played Saturday.

The Lady Golden Tide of Trenton took on the Trinity Christian Lady Lions in the first game of the day as Trenton’s half court offense proved to be too much for Trinity as the Lady Golden Tide defeated Trinity 56-41.

The Lady Lions tied the game at 30-30 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter on a field goal by Hailey Elliot, but Trenton quickly regained the lead on two free throws by Brianna Harper. Trenton finished the quarter with two steals and fast break baskets by Laquita Luten that resulted in a 36-30 Trenton lead to end the third quarter.

Trenton’s ball controlling ability in the fourth quarter preserved the victory for the Lady Golden Tide. Laquita Luten led Trenton with 15 points followed by Brianna Harper with 12, Raechelle Bolden, Lorna Hudson and Jasmine Watson with seven each, Calandra Luten with four, Dynistia Johnson and Marinne Johnson with two each.

Hailey Elliot led Trinity with 13 points followed by Ashley Rosson with nine, Taylor Essenburg with eight, Shelby Cummings with five, Taylor Perry with four and Marie Yarbro with two. In the boys’ game, Trenton’s Jarron Young drained a three-pointer with :05 remaining in the first quarter to give the Golden Tide a 15-10 lead. Trenton’s transition game coupled with their shooting from the perimeter proved to be critical for the Lions as Peabody scored 26 points in the second quarter and went on to a 68-45 victory over Trinity.

Korensky Simpson led Peabody with 11 points followed by Corbin Branson and Dalton Craddock each with nine, Jarron Young with eight, Jeremy Vaughn with seven, Todd Edward Lumley and Jake Lewis with six apiece, Jonathon Glover with five, Steven Williams with four and Geoffery Crawley with three.

Roger Tatum led the Trinity Christian Academy Lions with 12 points followed by Justin Perry with eight, Nathan Montgomery and Benji Sparks with seven each, Jabriel Washington with six, Wilson Morris and Dusty Helton with two each and Patrick McGrath with one.

The Camden Lady Lions then took on the Gleason Lady Bulldogs in one for the ages. Gleason led 28-21 at the break, but the Lady Lions roared back. Amanda Brandenburg’s old fashion three-point play with :42.1 remaining in the third quarter tied the game at 36-36 and gave Camden a huge confidence boost.

The fourth quarter was a fluctuating battle, but Camden’s Heather Capps took a wayward pass from Gleason’s Jenna Frazier the length of the court for a basket with 1:11 remaining to give the Lady Lions a 51-50 lead. Gleason looked for the last shot, but Camden’s defense denied the Lady Bulldogs any type of penetration. Gleason was not able to get the ball into Frazier in the low post and with time running out, Camille Cooper was forced to take a well-guarded shot from behind the arch. Cooper’s shot was off the mark and the Lady Lions held on for the 51-50 victory over the Gleason Lady Bulldogs.

Amanda Brandenburg led the Lady Lions with 23 points followed by Heather Capps with 10, Alicia Edgil with eight, Keara White with six, Jessica Bannister and Sunni Duffey with two each.

Jenna Frazier led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points followed by Kim Edenfield with 13, Taylor Stout with eight, Camille Cooper with seven, Sara Hensley with four and Maggie Lowrance with three.

In the boys’ game, a determined defensive battle ensued from the tipoff as the Lions managed a 14-8 lead over Gleason after one quarter of play. The Bulldogs drew to within five with 6:03 remaining in the half as Evan Orr nailed a three-pointer, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would come. Camden took a 33-14 lead into the locker room and went on to a 62-48 victory over Gleason.

Kyle Herndon led the Lions with 21 points followed by Justin Weed with 20, Taylor Douglas with six, Cody Adams with five, Dakota Summers with four, Patrick Hassell and Jordan Murphy with two each.

Colin Bennett led the Bulldogs with 14 points followed by Ben Rollins with 12, Evan Orr with eight, Preston Frazier with seven and Ben Sumner with four.

The next game pitted the Lady Rockets of Clarksburg against the Dresden Lady Lions.

Dresden’s Erica Glisson hit seven of seven from the charity stripe in the second quarter to facilitate a 47-13 Lady Lions lead at the break. Dresden went on to win by a score of 78-26 over a young Clarksburg squad.

Jessica Parsley led Dresden with 18 points followed by Amy Reddick with 14, Erica Glisson with 11, Marlee Mason with nine, Jessica Jones with eight, Kristen Childress and Breanna Dubriel with four each, Courtney McMillin and Morgan Smith with three each, Kaci Robbins and Alex Glisson with two apiece.

Brittany Flowers led the Lady Rockets with eight points followed by Jessica Galloway with five, Kristin Lankford and Keandra Jamison with four each, Candice Gooch and Chelsey Milton with two apiece and Hannah Halter with one.

In the boys’ game, Clarksburg’s stifling defense caused the Dresden Lions problems throughout the contest. The Rockets managed points off of Dresden miscues to lead 34-27 at the half. The Lions charged back to take a 44-41 lead after three quarters of play.

Following a Dresden turnover with 4:25 remaining, Clarksburg’s Emmanuel McClerking connected on a field goal to give the Rockets a 47-46 lead. The Rockets led the remainder of the game as they defeated the Dresden Lions 60-50.

Emmanuel McClerking led Clarksburg with 20 points followed by Tyler Epperson with 17, Derek Bird with 14, Jarvis Pearson with five, Devon Bailey and Heath Bartholomew with two each.

Matt McCulley and Matt Beaty each scored 12 points to led the Dresden Lions followed by Eric Evans with nine, Kody Houston with five, Tyler Hawks with four, Dillon Matlock with three Daniel Harris and Alex Robinson with two each and Tyler McPeak with one.

With the Hall of Champions winding down, the pre-season fifth-ranked Lady Mustangs of Madison Academic took on the West Carroll Lady War Eagles in the next game.

Madison Academic’s Hope Patterson drained a three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining to bring the Lady Mustangs to within one point of West Carroll. Madison Academic managed to get the ball back and had three attempts underneath its goal for a basket with time running out, but couldn’t get it to go as the Lady War Eagles defense blanketed the paint area. West Carroll’s Morgan Woodard hit the second of two free throws with three tenths of a second remaining to secure the 61-59 victory.

Jessica Carter led the Lady War Eagles with 21 points followed by Morgan Woodard with 17, Whitney Foster with 15 and Madison Lane with eight.

Morgan Faulkner led the Lady Mustangs with 35 points followed by Hope Patterson with six, Miriah Bell with five, Nikke Early with four, Anna Isbell and Caroline Carpenter with three each Brittney Marrow with two and Sarah Sopcak with one.

In the nightcap, the West Carroll quickness and athleticism proved to be too much for the Madison Academic Mustangs as the War Eagles cruised to a 70-56 win.

Thomas Greer led the War Eagles with 27 points followed by Clint McClain with 18, Hayden McClain with 11, Donovan Wolfe with six, Justin Scruggs with five, Xavier Cunningham with two and Danney Williamson with one.

Desmond Sanders led the Mustangs with 17 points followed by Riley Morgan with 15, Jamaal Goldsmith with 11, Earl Shaw with six, Tremaine Sills with three, Ray Hall and Matt Hardaway with two each.