Highlanders defeat Angelina, Highlassies fall

Wednesday evening marked the first road games of the 2017-18 season for both the McLennan Highlassies and Highlanders.

In a game that came down to the final seconds, the Highlanders defeated the Angelina Roadrunners 82-74.

Xaiver Armstead opened the game with a free throw following an administrative technical foul on Angelina to put McLennan up 1-0. He followed that with a 3-pointer from the elbow to extend the lead to four, 4-0 with 17:47 to play in the first. The Highlanders pulled away and led by eight, 15-7, with just under 13 minutes to go in the first half. Angelina didn't back down though and chipped away at the lead until pulling within one, 21-20 with 6:44 remaining in the half. McLennan extended the lead to eight with 2:26 on the clock, 32-24, and the Roadrunners rallied to cut the lead to one at the half, 35-34.

Angelina tied the game on a free throw less than a minute into the second half. McLennan pulled away once again, leading by nine, 56-47 with 13 minutes to play in the game, but Angelina wasn't going down without a fight. The Highlanders led 63-57 with eight minutes to play. The Roadrunners used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 63 and had a chance to take the lead on a free throw, but it bounced off the iron. McLennan took the lead again on a pair of free throws by Jashawn Talton followed by a 3-pointer by Antoine Banks, and led 78-74 with 23 seconds to play. Armstead and Sasa Vuksanvic both sank a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

Vuksanvic led the Highlanders with 17 points and Talton chipped in 16. Armstead and Banks added 14 and 13, respectively.

In the early game, the McLennan Highlassies fell to the Angelina Lady Roadrunners 80-71.

Angelina secured the tip and began the scoring on a Charisma Shepherd layup just three seconds into the game. Anndrea Lloyd put the Highlassies on the board with a shot in the lane on the Highlassies' first possession. The game was tit-for-tat for the first three minutes with Angelina leading 10-8 with just under seven minutes to play in the first quarter. The Lady Roadrunners began to pull away from that point and led 23-14 going into the second.

Angelina kept McLennan at arm's length in the second quarter, leading by as many as 14. The Highlassies didn't give up and rallied late in the quarter to cut the Lady Roadrunner's lead to nine at halftime, 42-33.

The Lady Roadrunners extended the lead back to 15, 52-37, with 4:06 to play in the third quarter. McLennan rallied once again, using a 6-0 run to trim the Angelina lead to nine, 52-43. The Lady Roadrunners led by 12 at the end of the third, 58-46, and continued to pull away down the stretch in the fourth. Down by 20 with 4:31 to play, 76-56, the Highlassies stepped up their game. McLennan ended the game on a 15-4 run to narrow the gap to nine.

Jaylonn Walker led the Highlassies with 18 and Velma Mitchell added 16.

Angelina 80, McLennan 71
McLennan: Patrickia Daily 1 1-2 4; Colandria Haynes 2 1-1 6; Shekenia Green 1 1-2 3; Velma Mitchell 4 5-8 16; KeeKee Nowlin 0 1-2 1; Jaylonn Walker 5 6-8 18; Raveen Blue 1 0-0 3; Shankia Clark 1 1-2 3; Nadia Hayes 3 0-0 6; Chiqueria Cook 1 1-1 3; Anndrea Lloyd 3 2-3 8; Totals: 22 18-29 71.

Angelina: Kai-Lee Valentine 1 0-0 2; Charisma Shepherd 3 0-0 7; Breyanna Brown 2 0-0 4; Priscilla Murray 1 0-0 3; Natasha Mack 6 1-3 13; Angelica Darcus 5 0-0 11; Mia Perkins 2 4-4 8; Mercy Blanco 2 0-0 4; Mia Williams 7 0-0 9; Ayesha Davis 0 4-4 4; Rexesha Hollis 2 0-0 5; Totals: 31 9-11 80.

3-pointers: McLennan 8 (Mitchell 3, Walker 2, Daily 1, Haynes 1, Blue 1), Angelina (Williams 5, Shepherd 1, Murray 1, Darcus 1, Hollis 1); Total fouls: McLennan 14, Angelina 24; Fouled out: Angelina (Darcus); Halftime score: Angelina 42, McLennan 33; Record: McLennan 3-1.

McLennan 82, Angelina 74
McLennan: Aaron Gregg 1 2- 25; Javen Hedgeman 1 0-0 2; Marquez Cooper 1 2-2 4; Xaiver Armstead 9 2-2 14; Antoine Banks 4 2-2 13; Jashawn Talton 5 5-6 16; Dayante McClellan 1 1-2 3; Jordan Skipper-Brown 4 0-0 8; Sasa Vuksanvic 5 8-10 17; Totals: 26 18-23 82.

Angelina: Kevin Norma 2 1-2 5; Deedy Gauno 3 0-0 7; Jay Head 1 0-0 2; Bryan Mitchell 3 4-6 12; Antione Hailey 4 0-1 9; Mario Goggins 2 7-8 11; Gilbert Thomas 3 5-7 13; Angel Bullock 2 2-2 6; Nylek Cobb 2 0-0 5; Totals: 24 22-28 74.

3-pointers: McLennan 7 (Banks 3, Armstead 2, Gregg 1, Talton 1), Angelina 4 (Gauno 1, Mitchell 1, Hailey 1 Cobb 1); Total fouls: McLennan 23, Angelina 20; Fouled out: McLennan (Skipper-Brown), Angelina (Thomas, Gauno); Halftime score: McLennan 35, Angelina 34; Record: McLennan 5-0.