PENNINGTON — The Saint Bernard Saints proved they deserved the Class 1A #10 ranking when they invaded JB Pennington Thursday night.
The Saints set the tone early with back to back threes from Gavin Harris, coupled with a deep three ball from Evan Aldridge before Pennington could get on the board.
However, the Tigers were not going to go down without a fight. Scoring five straight and forcing a couple of turnovers was enough for the Saints to call a timeout and slow down the action.
The Saints outscored Pennington 6-3 out of the break. This was good enough for a 15-8 advantage after the first eight minutes of play.
Pennington quickly closed the gap in the second with active hands on defense and good shooting on offense. St Bernard was able to weather the onslaught and played their game, keeping distance between themselves and the Tigers.
Carrying a four-point advantage for most of the quarter, St. Bernard turned it up at the last minute, hitting a pair of threes sandwiched around a Pennington two-point bucket. This led to a 31-23 lead at the half.
St. Bernard started the second half much the same they started the first, with a flurry. The Saints jumped out to a 7-2 run to go up 13 and put Pennington's back to the wall. The rest of the quarter was played virtually even with St. Bernard holding a 46-34 lead after three.
The Tigers came out roaring in the fourth, scoring the first five points and cutting the St Bernard lead to seven. The teams then traded three-point plays before the Saints hit a lay-up to push their advantage back to nine. The Saints held firm for the remainder of the quarter and took the hard fought game by the score of 59-50.
St. Bernard Lady Saints 23 – JB Pennington Lady Tigers 53 (Girls)
It may have been an unseasonably warm night, but it was ice cold in the Pennington gym. Neither the Lady Tigers or Lady Saints could buy a bucket in the early part of their matchup, but both teams found their groove late, with Pennington taking the 15-9 first quarter lead.
The Lady Tigers took over in the second, holding the Lady Saints to just eight points while scoring 20 themselves, thanks in part to a 14-4 run to end the half. This gave Pennington a comfortable lead, 35-17, heading into the half.
Pennington dominated the third and outscored the visiting Lady Saints 15-4 setting up a fourth quarter hot clock. The Lady Tigers took the game 53-23.
