Monroe County, Stallworth outpace ECHS 53-47
Published 9:45 pm Friday, January 12, 2018
Monroe County’s Tyler Stallworth scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth period to help lead the Tigers to a 53-47 area win over Escambia County tonight in Atmore.
Stallworth came alive in the fourth period, and iced the game with a three-point play with 1:06 left. He put his final stamp on the game with a horn-beating dunk.
ECHS found itself at the free-throw line late in the fourth, but didn’t make the shots down the stretch. In fact, the Blue Devils didn’t do so well in the game, missing 14.
“If we make free throws, we win the game,” ECHS basketball coach Rodney Jackson said. “Monroe County is a tough opponent, and we’ve built up a rivalry against them.”
The No. 3 Blue Devils fall to 17-5 overall, and 2-1 in Class 4A, Area 2. No. 7 MCHS is 14-5. Both play each other next Friday in Monroeville.
Earlier in the fourth period, ECHS’s Malik Brown and Nicholas Davison had a one-two punch to help tie the game at 44-all with 3:29 to go, and Xavier Lymon gave the Blue Devils’ its first lead since late in the first half with two foul shots.
Monroe County’s Bryson Green answered with a 3-pointer, which led up to Stallworth’s three-point play.
Late and throughout the game, the Blue Devils didn’t do what they do on a normal basis, Jackson said.
“We missed shots that we normally sink,” he said. “Give credit to Monroe County. They played well.”
On a typical night, ECHS is a fast-paced, high-scoring team, and Jackson said MCHS had a lot to do with taking his team out of its rhythm.
MCHS led 40-34 at the end of the third period, and had a good 24-18 lead at the break.
Once the game was signed, sealed and delivered, former ECHS basketball coach Jerome Webster, who is Monroe’s assistant boys basketball coach, celebrated with a fist-bump in front of his team’s crowd. Webster, who is also the MCHS assistant girls coach, was coaching for MCHS head boys basketball coach Anthony Hayes because Hayes was on military orders tonight.
Green chipped in 12 points for the Tigers; and Albert Middleton had nine points.
Brown led the Blue Devils with 14 points; Lue Williams had 13; Davison and Lymon had seven apiece.
