The McLennan Highlanders swatted the Eastfield Harvester Bees 117-99 tonight in the final game of the 2023 McLennan Classic.
It was wild, fast-paced first half between the Highlanders and Bees. A pair of Evan Chatman free throws began the scoring for McLennan less than five seconds into the game following a quick Eastfield foul. The Highlanders led 8-6 with 17:37 to play in the half and gave themselves a little cushion with a 6-0 run comprised of a Daylon Dickerson basket and four free throws from Nick Shogbonyo. McLennan extended the lead to 15 at 37- 22 with just under nine minutes to play before the half but Eastfield wasn't backing down. The Bees rallied down the stretch and cut the lead to one on a Vashay Wright III 3-pointer just before the buzzer, 51-50.
McLennan's Shogbonyo opened the second half with a 3-pointer and the Highlanders began to slowly pull away. The Highlanders led 73-64 with 12:59 to play in the game. With Eastfield pressing, back-to-back buckets by Dickerson started an 8-0 run. McLennan easily overcame the press and pushed the lead to 90-69 midway through the half. Already leading 92-74, the Highlanders put together another run, this one of the 11-0 variety to extend the lead to 29. Eastfield put together a late comeback but it wasn't enough to overcome McLennan.
Nick Shogbonyo led McLennan with 24 points and Daylon Dickerson scored 23. Mason Lockhart added 21. Evan Chatman and Antwone Gonzales scored 13 and 12, respectively.
Eastfield: Jamaari Greene 3 0-0 6; Marcus Gill Jr. 4 0-1 8; Tommy Walton 0 0-0 0; Lamondrick Johnson 2 1-2 8; Jayden Jackson 5 0-0 14; DQuarius Burton 5 0-1 11; Dezmon Dudley 3 5-6 11; Joshua Williford 5 6-7 17; Vashay Wright III 7 3-6 19; Dwayne Reliford 2 1-2 5; Emmanuel Okewole 0 0-0 0; Totals: 45 16-25 99.
McLennan: Daylon Dickerson 10 3-4 23; Nick Shogbonyo 5 12-14 24; Jaden Juarez 0 2-2 2; Jhaden Brown 0 3-4 3; Antwone Gonzales 6 0-0 13; Landon Anderson 0 0-0 0; Cameron Crockett 3 6-11 12; Evan Chatman 4 6-6 15; Mason Lockhart 8 5-6 21; Jude Lambert 2 0-0 4; Totals: 42 38-47 117.
Halftime score: McLennan 51, Eastfield 50; 3-pointers: Eastfield 9 (Jackson 3, Wright III 2, Johnson 1, Burton 1, Williford 1), McLennan 4 (Shogbonyo 2, Gonzales 1, Chatman 1); Total fouls: Eastfield 32, McLennan 20; Fouled out: Jackson (Eastfield), Williford (Eastfield); Record: McLennan 3-0.
