Demopolis dumps Akron 81-66

After a rocky start, Demopolis relied on hot shooting and a relentless offensive attack to down Akron 81-66 Friday night.

The Tigers and the Rams played to a 14-all tie in the first quarter before Demopolis hung more than 20 in each of the game’s final three periods to pull away.

“We wanted to keep the defensive intensity and we wanted to attack on the offensive end. I felt like that’s what we did. We started attacking more,” Demopolis coach Rodney Jackson said of an offensive focus that shifted from jumpers to drives in the game’s second frame. “Even when we did take jump shots, I felt that it was a good shot off of ball movement, penetrating and kicking. I’m happy with the overall game.”

The Tigers carried a 35-28 lead into the break before stretching the game to it’s final margin with a 22-20 third quarter and a 24-18 fourth period.

“I felt like we didn’t do a good job of stopping the drive and rebounding, so we shored that up a little more in the second half,” Jackson said.

Kiante Jeffries led the way with 24 points for Demopolis to go along with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Roderick Davis finished with 21 points for the Tigers to go along with four rebounds and four assists.

“Roderick has done good for me,” Jackson said of the senior guard that has developed into the Tigers’ No. 2 scoring option. “Sometimes he might only have six points, but he is a big factor in our game plan. Now he is attacking a little bit more and he is the second scorer on our team.”

Two other Tigers finished in double figures as Demetrius Kemp had 12 points to go along with four rebounds and three blocks. Tyler Perkins finished with 10 points, six rebound and three assists.

MyKevan Wiggins led Akron with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Roland Burks finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Torres Blackmon had 12 points for the Rams.

The win snaps a five-game skid for Demopolis (8-10), which now turns its attention to a Tuesday road date with area foe Greenville.

“Anytime you get off a losing streak, that’s a great thing,” Jackson said. “Now we’ll travel over to Greenville and try to get us two in a row. Once you get off a losing streak, you always try to come back with a winning streak.”