Agee hangs 34 in Linden victory

SWEETWATER—Fifth ranked Linden (5-0) prevailed in comfortable fashion yet again Tuesday, leashing the hosting Bulldogs of Sweet Water early en route to a 78-41 Patriot victory.

“I liked our shot selection,” Linden coach Andro Williams said of a squad that went to the floor seemingly all game long. “I thought we took high percentage shots most of the game tonight.”

LHS began the parade of easy looks right from the tip Tuesday, capitalizing on its size advantage in both the front and backcourts. The mismatch in size saw Kynard Craig and Imoras Agee gobble up four easy points apiece to give Linden an early advantage of 8-2.

A Sweet Water timeout looked to breathe new life into the home team as SWHS would answer back with a run of its own. Demarcus Gamble’s 3-point basket out of the timeout was followed by a put-back to bring the score within one. Daniel Sewell’s patent floater after an LHS turnover gave the Bulldogs its first and only lead of the contest at 9-8 with 1:25 remaining in the opening period.

The Bulldogs would try a different approach to begin the second period by forcing Linden to earn its points via free throws. The strategy didn’t pay off, however, as the Patriots went a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe on the way to an 11-0 run to begin the period.

SWHS’ Xavier Norwood and Gamble would stop the bleeding momentarily thanks to back-to-back 3-point buckets, bringing the Bulldogs back to within 10 with 5:11 showing before intermission.

All Linden did was answer back immediately and forcefully. A 14-4 run consisting of tough post play from Patriot postmen Chris Rogers and Craig enabled Linden to enter the break with a more than comfortable margin of 39-to-20.

Linden’s Agee finished his monstrous first half, converting on all 10 free throw attempts and shooting 3-of-4 from downtown. Agee’s 23 first half points bested the entire Bulldog squad by three.

The third period saw Williams amp up his defense. The Patriots’ full-court press forced five Bulldog turnovers on SWHS’ first six possessions. The Pats converted all five miscues into points as they used the hot second half start to put things to bed rather hastily—with the score after three in favor of LHS 61-26 before gliding to victory by a final of 78-41.

“Our defense played good in spurts tonight,” Williams said of his squad’s third quarter defensive attack. “We’re still not there though. We have to play better, consistent defense throughout the course of the game.”

Linden will look to do just that Thursday when it takes on R.C. Hatch at the Demopolis High Christmas Tournament at 7 p.m.

Agee finished his evening with 34 points including 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc.

Rogers finished in double figures for Linden as well with 13 points.

Savon Parker dropped in eight followed by Craig with seven.

Sewell led the attack for Sweet Water, finishing with 17 points.

Xavier Norwood threw in 14 of his own followed by an eight-point outing courtesy of Gamble.