Highlanders wallop Weatherford
The McLennan Highlanders walloped the Weatherford Coyotes 64-49 to move to 8-1 in conference play.
The first 15 minutes of the game would be a pair of two long runs. Dillion Bennett put Weatherford on the board with a jump shot off the opening tip. Nehemiah Nuckolls followed with a shot in the lane for McLennan to the game at two. Bennett added a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Coyotes up 5-2. Kirk Smith Jr. added a bucket for the Highlanders before Weatherford began to pull away. The Coyotes put together a 9-0 run to take the 14-4 lead with 13:50 to play in the first half. The Highlanders' Chris Pryor drained a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12:48 to go in the half. The Pryor shot ignited a 20-0 run for McLennan, giving the Highlanders the 24-14 lead with 5:19 to play in the half. A Bennett floater in the lane for the Coyotes stopped the McLennan run and cut the lead to eight. The Highlanders pushed the lead to 12 with one minute to go and held the 34-23 lead at the break.
McLennan came out on fire to start the second half, opening on a 14-0 run as they held the Coyotes scoreless for more five minutes. The Highlanders led by 25, 48-23, with 14:45 remaining in the game. McLennan cruised the rest of the way to the easy victory
Chris Pryor led the Highlanders with 15 points and Dillon Gooding added 12.
McLennan: Forte Prater 2 0-0 5; Dillon Gooding 3 6-6 12; CJ Hall 1 0-0 3; Rommell Williams 0 0-0 0; Anthony Simmons 0 0-0 0; Jayce Wright 0 0-0 0; Nehemiah Nuckolls 2 1-1 5; Chris Pryor 6 0-0 15; Diego Gonzalez 4 0-0 8; Khalif Allim 0 0-0 0; Cortland Blake 1 2-2 5; Kirk Smith Jr. 2 0-0 4; Javani Brown 1 0-0 3; Justin Wilson 2 0-0 4; Totals: 24 9-9 64.
Weatherford: Jayden Patcha 1 1-2 3; Matthew Okoye 4 2-3 12; Dillion Bennett 7 1-2 19; Deaken Stangl 1 0-0 2; Aaron Heft 0 0-0 0; Stephon Roberts 1 0-1 2; Keynan Russell 1 0-0 2; Trey Glenn 1 0-1 2; Jakobi Greenleaf 2 0-0 4; Yash Mattu 1 1-1 3; Totals: 19 5-10 49.
3-pointers: McLennan 6 (Pryor 3, Prater 1, Blake 1, Brown 1), Weatherford 6 (Bennett 4, Okoye 2); Total fouls: McLennan 15; Weatherford 15; Fouled out: Weatherford (Bennett); Halftime score: McLennan 34, Weatherford 23; Record: McLennan 21-3 (8-1).