Patriots hold off Southern Choctaw, remain unbeaten
Linden (3-0) shook off the early cobwebs at home Thursday in a dogfight that saw the Pats grind out a 51-44 win against the Indians of Southern Choctaw High (1-2).
The No. 7 ranked Patriots saw their freshly acquired poll recognition in question Thursday when Southern Choctaw put it on the Pats early. LHS was skunked 7-0 before falling behind 12-3 with 2:00 on the opening period scoreboard. Though not gracefully, Linden managed to answer back, scrounging together nine points the final 120 seconds of the first quarter.
A sigh of relief was awarded to the Linden faithful early in the second when Imoras Agee knocked down a triple in LHS’s first possession. Agee followed up with a 2-point basket before Kynard Craig cleaned up his own miss for the put-back, tying it at 16 all.
The next two possessions saw both teams exchange deuces. Then, with 3:30 showing in the second quarter, Agee went to the free throw line where he had a chance to give the Patriots their first lead of the night. He made both to give Linden the 20-18 advantage; one that LHS wouldn’t relinquish.
The remaining minutes of the first half saw only four made field goals, none more exciting than that of Craig, who slammed it home on a breakaway that left him all by his lonesome for the uncontested throw-down to end the half with LHS leading 24-20.
The third period was controlled by Agee as he came out aggressive on offense, looking for his shot early. He found it. Agee had 12 of LHS’s 16 third period points, including the first eight to go along with five rebounds. Sloppy play plagued most of the period however, leaving much to be desired for both squads.
For the Patriots, it was shots around the rim, the majority of which stemmed from put-backs off of offensive rebounds. For SCHS, the culprit was the inability to connect on free-throws. The Indians went 5-for-12 from the not-so-accurately-dubbed charity stripe, missing six in the final 1:45 of the third. Still, the score was nowhere out of reach for Southern Choctaw as it sat at 43-30 heading into the final period of play.
Linden’s victory can be attributed to free throws as it scored seven of its last 11 points from the line. The final tallies illustrate the obvious difference—LHS finished 17-for-24 at 71 percent while SCHS shot a brutal 37 percent after converting 6-of-16 free-throw opportunities.
The final totals saw Agee have another stellar outing, dropping 24 points and ending with 12 rebounds, securing the double-double.
Chris Rogers and Craig both neared a double-double themselves with 10 points each and a total of 17 boards.
Thomas Hill led the Indians with 13 points and five assists.
The Patriots look to stay perfect Friday as they hit the road for their fourth game in five days, making the short trek to Demopolis for what should be a competitive contest.