McLennan Basketball squads top Southwestern Christian

The McLennan Basketball teams made the trip north to Terrell Wednesday afternoon and are returning to Waco with a pair of wins over Southwestern Christian.

In the early game, the Highlassies defeated the Lady Rams 93-62.

Anndrea Lloyd put the Highlassies on the board with a bucket from the lane with 9:34 to go in the first quarter. Southwestern Christian responded with a Robinson 3-pointer from the top of the key less than 10 seconds later to take the 3-2 lead. The Highlassies led 8-5 with just over eight minutes to play in the first quarter and it was all McLennan from that point forward. The Highlassies broke the game wide open with a 14-0 run. McLennan led 24-7 after one quarter of play and continued to pull away, leading 48-29 at intermission.

The second half was much the same as the Highlassies cruised to the easy victory. Velma Mitchell led all scorers with 24 points and Jaylonn Walker added 16. KeeKee Nowlin and Anndrea Lloyd chipped in 10 points each. Robinson led Southwestern Christian with 20 points including six 3-pointers.

In men's action, the Highlanders defeated the Rams 87-74.

Javen Hedgeman scored less than 15 seconds into the game to begin the McLennan scoring. A 3-pointer by Moffett put the Rams up 3-2 with 18:37 to play in the first half. That would be Southwestern Christian's only lead of the contest. Just like the women did in the game before, McLennan broke the game open with a run. The Highlanders' was one of the 19-0 variety, building an 18-point lead midway through the half, 21-3. Southwestern Christian eventually found their rhythm and cut the McLennan lead to 13 at the break, 47-34.

The Highlanders continued to pull away early in the second half and took their largest lead at 70-48 with 11 minutes remaining in the game. The Rams didn't go down without a fight, however. Southwestern Christian rallied to pull within 10, 72-62 with 7:39 to go, but that was as close as they could get.

Aaron Gregg led McLennan with 21 points and Xaiver Armstead added 20. Garrett Shaw and Sasa Vuksanvic scored 16 and 10, respectively.

McLennan returns home Saturday for Sophomore Day at The Highlands as we honor the sophomores from both basketball teams and the dance company. The women's game will tip off at 2 p.m. followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.

McLennan 93, Southwestern Christian 62
McLennan: Patrickia Daily 2 0-0 6; Colandria Haynes 0 2-2 2; JonNá McDonald 1 4-4 6; Shekenia Green 1 2-2 4; Velma Mitchell 8 4-4 24; KeeKee Nowlin 3 2-2 10; Jaylonn Walker 5 4-4 16; Raveen Blue 1 0-0 2; Shankia Clark 4 0-0 8; Nadia Hayes 1 0-0 2; Chiqueria Cook 1 3-4 5; Anndrea Lloyd 4 2-2 10; Totals: 31 23-24 93.

Southwestern Christian: Nixon 3 1-1 9; Johnson 3 0-0 8; Carr 4 1-2 10; West 0 0-0 0; Jackson 2 0-0 4; Brannon 4 1-1 9; Robinson 7 0-2 20; Singleton 0 0-0 0; Moreno 1 0-0 2; Totals: 24 6-11 62.

3-pointers: McLennan 8 (Mitchell 4, Walker 2, Daily 2), Southwestern Christian 11 (Robinson 6, Nixon 2, Johnson 2, Carr 1) Total fouls: McLennan 7, Southwestern Christian 18; Halftime score: McLennan 48, Southwestern Christian 29; Record: McLennan 14-10 (7-3).

McLennan 87, Southwestern Christian 74
McLennan: Aaron Gregg 8 4-7 21; Javen Hedgeman 4 1-2 9; Marquez Cooper 0 0-0 0; Xaiver Armstead 7 3-4 20; Garrett Shaw 5 3-5 16; Jashawn Talton 2 2-2 6; Dayante McClellan 1 1-2 3; Jordan Skipper-Brown 1 0-0 2; Sasa Vuksanvic 5 0-0 10; Malachi Barron 0 0-0 0; Totals: 33 14-22 87.

Southwestern Christian: Littles 9 4-4 28; Dorsey 3 6-6 14; Byrd 0 0-0 0; Mays 3 1-2 7; Atkins 1 1-1 3; Blunt 1 0-0 2; Moffett 3 0-0 8; Sotolongo 0 0-0 0; Davenport 1 0-0 4; Jenkins 0 0-0 0; Robertson 3 1-3 8; Totals: 24 15-18 74.

3-pointers: McLennan 7 (Armstead 3, Shaw 3, Gregg 1), Southwestern Christian 11 (Littles 6, Dorsey 2, Moffett 2, Robertson 1); Total fouls: McLennan 19, Southwestern Christian 20; Fouled out: Dorsey (Southwestern Christian); Halftime score: McLennan 47, Southwestern Christian 34; Record: McLennan 22-4 (5-3).