Boys Basketball

CARBONDALE — Paducah Tilghman trailed early, but once the Blue Tornados took the lead halfway through the first quarter, they never looked back. They went on to beat Carbondale 56-34 and remain undefeated at the second annual Route 13 Christmas Classic on Wednesday.

"We were better defensively than the last couple games," said Tilghman coach Greg Overstreet. "Before this game we had talked about going back to sticking to our rules, going to the right spots and rotating. We get in trouble when we are gambling and fouling a lot, so it was nice to see us come out in the first half and really lock down and guard. We had a lot of steals and when you get your hands active things kind of bounce to you. We had just three turnovers in the first half and anytime we can keep our turnovers to five or less in a half we shoot a good enough percentage we’ll be ok."

Tilghman (9-2) won its third game in a row and its second of the tournament with a game against Marion (AR), which also won its first two games of the tournament after beating Jacksonville, 65-33, to determine which team plays Thursday for first place or second place. All games will be played at Carbondale.

In the games hosted by Marion, Overton (TN) beat Springfield Southeast 92-73, to remain undefeated at 2-0 and Marion (IL) beat Cairo, 77-27. Marion and Springfield are 1-1 going into the evening session. Marion plays Springfield in the evening session with Overton playing Cairo.

"I think we have our work cut out for us tonight," Overstreet said. "Marion Arkansas is long and they have the size in past games that give us a little bit of trouble in the two games we lost to similar type teams. We have to handle their pressure and hopefully we can turn them over a few times."

Carbondale (5-8) fell to 0-2 in the tournament with a 77-47 loss to Marion (AR) Tuesday night. The Terriers play Jacksonville, which is also 0-2 in the tournament, Wednesday night, with the winner playing the 5th place game at 12:30 p.m. Thursday and the loser in the 7th place game at 11 a.m.

"We struggled on the offensive end and didn't play real good on defense," said Carbondale assistant coach Kobe Lewis-Moss. "We can't give up 20 offensive rebounds and 15 turnovers. Almost every time they converted those turnovers into baskets. That's a recipe to lose. Tonight we’re playing another good team. We have to move on from this game and lock into Jacksonville and try to get a win."

Senior guard Jayvion Powell led the Blue Tornadoes with 19 points, including 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Senior forward Mian Shaw scored 14 points before leaving the game in the third quarter after hitting his head on the court. Shaw was also good at the line making 5-of-6.

Junior guard DeCarl Payne led the Terriers with 14 points. Malik Crane-Walker finished with six followed by four each from Levi Teague, Tenell Greene and Mikey Greene.

Carbondale scored first on a layup by Payne. After Tilghman tied the score on a jumper by LeBran McMullen, the Terriers jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Payne.

Powell tied the score on a 3-pointer from the left side and gave the Blue Tornadoes the lead for a good run later on a steal and a feed by Jamey Harris. Caleb Payne followed with a fast break layup following another steal and scored again on a jumper.

The run continued with a pair of free throws by Powell and a fast break layup by Shaw following a steal by Miles Woodfork to take a 15-5 lead in the first.

Payne cut the lead back to seven by splitting a pair free throws and scoring on a layup with 15.6 remaining.

Carbondale cut the lead to five to open the second quarter when Payne was fouled again and he made both his free throw attempts. But Tilghman went on a 9-2 run to up its lead to 12 in the half. After the teams traded baskets, Tilghman scored the final 11 points to take a 37-16 lead at the half.

Paducah Tilghman 56, Carbondale 34

Paducah Tilghman 15 22 14 5—56

Carbondale 8 8 8 10—34

PADUCAH TILGHMAN (56)—Javyion Powell 6 6-7 19, Mian Shaw 4 5-6 14, Omari Williams 3 01-1 7, Jamey Harris 1 1-2 4, Josh Campbell 2 0-0 4, Caleb Payne 2 0-0 4, Antwon McClue 1 0-0 2, LeBran McMullen 1 0-0 2, Ahmad Wilkins 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 20 12-17 56.

CARBONDALE (34)—DeCarl Payne 4 5-9 14, Malik Crane-Walker 3 0-0 6, Levi Teague 1 2-2 4, Tenell Greene 1 1-2 4, Mikey Greene 2 0-0 4, Antoine Walker 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 10 8-14 34.

Halftime Score: Paducah Tilghman 37, Carbondale 16. 3-Point Goals: Paducah Tilghman 3 (Powell, Harris, Shaw). Carbondale 2 (Payne, Tenell Greene). Team Fouls: Paducah Tilghman 14. Carbondale 16. Records: Paducah Tilghman (8-2, 2-0 tournament). Carbondale (5-8, 0-2 tournament).

Paducah Tilghman 15 22 14 5 - 56

Carbondale 8 8 8 10 - 34

PADUCAH TILGHMAN (56) - Javyion Powell 6 6-7 19, Mian Shaw 4 5-6 14, Omari Williams 3 01-1 7, Jamey Harris 1 1-2 4, Josh Campbell 2 0-0 4, Caleb Payne 2 0-0 4, Antwon McClue 1 0-0 2, LeBran McMullen 1 0-0 2, Ahmad Wilkins 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 20 12-17 56.

CARBONDALE (34) - DeCarl Payne 4 5-9 14, Malik Crane-Walker 3 0-0 6, Levi Teague 1 2-2 4, Tenell Greene 1 1-2 4, Mikey Greene 2 0-0 4, Antoine Walker 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 10 8-14 34.

Halftime Score: Paducah Tilghman 37, Carbondale 16. 3-Point Goals: Paducah Tilghman 3 (Powell, Harris, Shaw). Carbondale 2 (Payne, Tenell Greene). Team Fouls: Paducah Tilghman 14. Carbondale 16. Records: Paducah Tilghman (8-2, 2-0 tournament). Carbondale (5-8, 0-2 tournament).

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