Patriots drop Demopolis to move to 5-0

Linden High’s Patriots used an 8-0 start and a 12-4 run to open the second half on its way to a convincing 82-68 win over intra-county rival Demopolis Friday night.

“I thought we had a fairly decent start,” said Linden head coach Roosevelt Moore, whose Patriots stayed perfect on the season, moving to 5-0. “I thought our guys were relentless on both sides of the ball. Our guys really stepped up to the challenge tonight.”

Linden rode the 8-0 start to a 23-18 margin after one period. The visiting Patriots led 36-28 at the half before the 12-4 run to start the third.

Demopolis trimmed the LHS lead to eight, 69-61 with just over two minutes to play, but could get no closer.

“We were just a step slow,” said Demopolis head coach Rodney Jackson. “They made the plays and we didn’t. It was just a bad game. We didn’t execute. It’s a long season, and we’re going to work on correcting those things. I’m not going to give up.”

With the loss, Demopolis fell to 2-4 on the season.

Imoras Agee poured in 22 points for Linden to lead all scorers, followed by fellow Patriot Shauka Reese’s 20. Chris Rogers added 13 for LHS.

Cortez Lewis and Rashad Lynch paced the Tigers with 16 points each.

In girls’ action, Demopolis stormed to a 26-5 first quarter lead and coasted to a 66-44 victory over the Lady Patriots. Martina Smith led the Lady Tigers with 23 points, while Jonniece Collins added 19.

For Linden, Briana Delaine had 16 points and Imiya Agee chipped in 10.

DHS improved to 4-1 with the win, while Linden dropped to 2-3.

“We were able to get out to the big lead early and take them out of their game,” said Lady Tigers head coach Tony Pittman. “I was pleased with our defense and the way we pressed the ball, and on offense we shot well from outside. In the second half we didn’t play up to par, but I don’t know if that was because we had the big lead. We’re a young team and we’ve got to learn to stay focused.”

Lady Patriots head coach Teressa Bolden said Demopolis’ outside shooting was the key to the game. “No. 21 (Smith) was on fire, but we’ve got to learn how to cover the (three-point) shot,” Bolden said. “We also had too many turnovers and too many missed free throws. We got down and had to try to play catch-up.”