Staff Report
MaxPreps.com
MUNCIE, Ind. – Senior superstar Derrick Favors registered a huge double-double with 30 points and 21 rebounds to lead South Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.) to a 67-53 win over Duncanville (Texas), a team picked preseason national No. 1 by some publications, in first-day action at the T-Mobile Invitational on the campus of Ball State University on Monday.
Favors, a 6-foot-9 post regarded as one of the top five seniors in the country, connected on all 12 of his field goal attempts – including a 3-pointer – and added three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Senior guard Nick Watkins added 14 points for the Hornets while Andre Malone contributed 11.
Duncanville suffered its fifth loss of the season and third in the last 10 days. The Panthers are loaded with five major conference recruits in the starting lineup. Perry Jones, a 6-11 junior, and Roger Franklin shared the scoring load in a losing effort with 12 points apiece.
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Boys Bracket: Lawrence North 61, Garfield 37
Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.) took advantage of super sophomore Tony Wroten’s absence (more on this below) with a 19-6 first quarter surge en route to a 61-37 victory over Garfield (Seattle, Wash.).
Dominique Ferguson, a 6-9 junior already committed to Purdue, led three Wildcats in double figures with 18 points. Justin Martin and Ryan Taylor added 11 and 10, respectively.
Minus its star point guard, Garfield shot just 25 percent for the game. Senior guard DeAndre Taylor paced the Bulldogs with 17 points.
Lawrence North, winners of three-straight state titles with current NBA stars Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. from 2004-2006, will meet South Atlanta for the T-Mobile Invitational title Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. EST.
Garfield will face Duncanville in the consolation game at 1:45 p.m.
Girls Bracket: Washington 75, University 73 (OT)
In the game of the day at Worthen Arena, Washington (South Bend, Ind.) gave Indiana teams a 2-0 record with a 75-73 overtime win over University (Newark, N.J.).
The contest featured a pair of standouts in Washington senior Skylar Diggins, a Notre Dame signee that earned first team All-American honors from MaxPreps as a junior, and University’s Laurin Mincy. The duo did not disappoint, combining for 66 points.
Despite fouling out with three minutes remaining in regulation, Diggins helped her team to victory with 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Mincy countered with 35 points, seven rebounds and seven steals.
The teams combined for 73 free throw attempts and 60 turnovers.
Washington’s Rakeesha Lane backed up Diggins’ effort with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Nadirah McKenith of University complemented Mincy with 21 points and seven boards.
Girls Bracket: Bob Jones 47, Gentry 18 [Watch Game]
Using a stifling defense and balanced scoring, Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) punched its ticket to the T-Mobile finals with a dominating 47-18 win over Gentry (Indianola, Miss.).
The Patriots led 27-8 at halftime and didn’t allow Gentry to score more than six points in any quarter. Senior guard Jala Harris paced Bob Jones with eight points and three steals.
The result was a shock to Gentry’s system as the program entered the season riding an 80-game win streak with back-to-back state titles in Mississippi. Brizanni Washington, a junior All-State candidate, led the Rams with five points.
Bob Jones, Alabama’s defending 6A state champions, will face Washington Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. EST for the tournament title.
Gentry and University meet at noon in consolation play.
Notes: Seattle School District Sacks Wroten
Star sophomore Tony Wroten was benched by Garfield head coach Ed Haskins for the team’s T-Mobile Invitational match-up against Lawrence North after the Seattle School District intervened late on Monday.
Haskins received a phone call one hour before game time from his attorney informing him that the district threatened to fire him if he allowed Wroten to play in a highly-anticipated game against the alma mater of Portland Trailblazer Greg Oden.
According to sources close to the situation, the court injunction called for the ban on Wroten to be lifted once the family posted bond. The family posted bond sometime last week and Wroten would have become eligible to play on Garfield’s next school day.
However, due to a serious winter storm and school cancellation, Garfield never reopened before the break, meaning Wroten will technically not be eligible to play until classes resume in early January.
Wroten, dressed in team gear, sat at the end of the bench the entire game and could only watch as the Bulldogs fell at the hands of Lawrence North, 61-37.
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