Blake Branch/Press-Herald
The biggest game of a busy Thursday on the hardcourt was in Haughton at the Jack Clayton Invitational, where Minden and Lakeside met in a rematch of Tuesday’s thrilling game won by Minden, 66-62.
It would be Minden coming out on top once again, this time in convincing fashion, 52-36.
Thomas Brown led the Crimson Tide with 11 points, followed by Davian Moore with five points.
In the first matchup, offense ruled the night, but on Thursday it was all about defense.
“It was not a very high-scoring game,” Minden head coach Alan Shaw said. “We did a really good job defensively on Lakeside’s best two players. I thought JJ Sneed and Ventavious Williams did a tremendous job guarding No. 22 tonight and guarding Jalen (Gould) as well.”
Gould finished with 15 points, Chris Brantley scored eight points and Djimon Lard had seven.
Minden will face Byrd tonight at 5:30 in Haughton for the second round of the tournament.
Lady Tiders
The Minden Lady Tiders defeated a good Neville team, 75-59.
Minden jumped out to a 26-11 first quarter lead, but from there the two teams traded big runs with Neville cutting the lead to single digits and Minden always having the answer.
“I thought we did a good job of moving the basketball and stepping up to the free throw line and knocking down some big shots,” Lady Tider head coach Jacob Brown said. “The way we played tonight shows the growth that’s taking place. Our group has potential; this was a pretty complete performance.”
Tiaga Pugh had a big night to lead the Lady Tiders with 28 points and nine rebounds.
Sha’Terra Batton had 17 points and six rebounds, Sha Whiting had 11 points, five rebounds and four steals and Bre Rogers added nine points and four rebounds.
The Lady Tiders will take on Captain Shreve tonight at BPCC in round two. Tip-off for that game is 5:30.
Glenbrook Apaches
The Glenbrook Apaches defeated Central School, 50-36.
“We won with our defense tonight,” Glenbrook head coach Jeff Dalton said. “We had an off night offensively, but Da’maza Robinson and Cade Conterez got us going in the second half.”
Robinson finished with 18 points to lead all scorers, followed by Conterez with 16 points.
Freshman Johnny Law Flournoy added seven points off the bench and senior forward Garrett Sanders pulled down 18 rebounds for the Apaches.
“Johnny Law Flournoy gave us great minutes off the bench,” Dalton said. “I thought Garrett Sanders owned the boards as well.”
Lady Apaches
The Glenbrook Lady Apaches made quick work of the Central School Lady Pioneers, 45-28.
“We’re getting better each game,” Lady Apache head coach Rendi Dillard said. “We jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. Central tried to make a couple runs, but we kept our heads down and finished.”
Carsin Spurlock led the Lady Apaches with 19 points, followed by Megan Sims and Amelia Christy with six points.