The McLennan Highlanders knocked off the second-ranked Salt Lake Bruins 73-62 this afternoon on the opening day of the Aztec Holiday Classic hosted by Pima College in Tucson, Arizona.
McLennan's Mason Lockhart began the scoring with a hook shot less than a minute into the contest. Salt Lake's shooters were cold to start the game, missing their first nine shots from the field. McLennan led 7-1 with 15:48 to go in the first half before Bryce Zephir drained a 3-pointer for the first Bruins' field goal to make it a 7-4 Highlander lead. A Nick Shogbonyo dunk after a McLennan steal followed by a 3-pointer from the corner by Antwone Gonzales made it 12-4 Highlanders with 13:03 to go. Salt Lake found a rhythm, using a 14-0 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 18-12 midway through the half. The Bruins continued to lead by six, 28-22, with just over four minutes to play before intermission. Gonzales banked a 3-pointer off the glass just as the shot clock sounded with 3:48 to go, igniting an 11-0 run, and the Highlanders would lead 33-28 at the break.
Salt Lake cut the Highlanders' lead to three early in the second, 38-35, but McLennan pulled away again with a 10-2 run. The Highlanders led by as many as 13 in the second half and held the Bruins at bay with strong shooting from the free throw line, combining to go 22-28 in the half.
Nick Shogbonyo led the Highlanders with 25 points, including going 14-15 from the free throw line. Daylon Dickerson and Antwone Gonzales added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Jaden Juarez scored 10.
McLennan: Daylon Dickerson 6 1-3 13; Nick Shogbonyo 5 14-15 25; Jaden Juarez 2 6-6 10; Jhaden Brown1 0-0 2; Antwone Gonzales 4 2-2 12; Cameron Crockett 1 0-4 2; Jaden Walker 0 0-0 0; Evan Chatman 0 0-0 0; Russell Foreman 1 0-2 2; Mason Lockhart 2 3-4 7; Totals: 22 26-36 73.
Salt Lake: Michael Folarin 1 1-2 3; CJ Luster 2 1-2 5; Luke Smellie 1 0-0 2; Bryce Zephir 5 0-0 12; Zaon Collins 1 0-0 2; Coen Collier 1 0-0 2; Preston Squire 5 4-4 19; Mason Bendinger 1 0-0 2; Mikhail Abdul-Hamid 1 0-0 3; Jordan Battle 3 3-3 9; Xavier Edmonds 1 0-0 2; Totals: 22 9-13 62.
Halftime score: McLennan 33, Salt Lake 28; 3-pointers: McLennan 3 (Gonzales 2, Shogbonyo 1), Salt Lake 9 (Squir3 5, Zephir 2, Luster 1, Abdul-Hamid 1); Total fouls: McLennan 16, Salt Lake 28; Fouled out: Edmonds (Salt Lake), Squire (Salt Lake); Record: McLennan 11-1.
