Indians Split With Warriors
The Vidalia High School basketball teams hosted the Warriors of Tattnall Couny last Tuesday. The Lady Indians fell in their contest, but the boys pulled out a close win over a very good Warrior team.
Girls
It was a tough game for the Lady Indians as they faced off with a good Tattnall County team. The Lady Warriors were on top 18-6 at the end of the first period, and they pushed that lead to 34-18 by halftime.
In the second half of the game Tattnall led 56-23 at the end of the third, and they went on to win the game 59-33.
VHS was led by Corianna Warner with 10 points, and Hannah Nichols added 8 points in the loss.
Boys
It was a wild start to this contest as the Indians jumped out to a big lead on the Warriors, only to see them come storming back. Ty Dalley put the first points on the board and put VHS up 3-0; then Bryson Whited added a runner in the lane for a 5-0 lead. Siricco Jones drilled a three-pointer for an 8-0 lead, and then Whited made it 10-0 with 4:50 left in the first period.
Tattnall finally got on the board as they tipped in a rebound with 4:40 on the clock. Dalley hit two threes in a row as the Indians built up a 16-2 lead, and then the VHS defense caused a 10-second continued from page
backcourt violation on the Warriors which forced them to take a timeout.
With 3:30 left in the first Konner Owens came up with a steal and pushed it ahead to Dalley for a dunk to make it 18-2 with 3:30 left in the first. Jordan Powell got one to go for a 20-2 lead, but Tattnall got another shot to fall to make it 20-4.
With 2:25 left in the opening quarter, Tattnall found the basket again. With 1:20 left, they had closed it to 22-10. A three for Tattnall made it 22-13, and it was 22-15 at the end of the first as Tattnall was making a run.
At the start of the second, Jacobi Washington got a couple of shots to fall to extend the VHS lead to 26-15. They answered with two baskets to close it back to 26-19, which forced a VHS timeout. Out of that Cori Mincey hit a floater in the lane and Washington made it 3022.
Tattnall hit a threepointer to close the VHS lead to 5 at 30-25. With 4:15 left in the half it was 32-27, and then 32-29 with 2:20 left. A fast-break and dunk by Tattnall and the Indians were up by just one, 32-31 with 1:55 on the clock.
Tattnall took their first lead of the game, 34-32 with 1:23 left in the half. They made it 36-32 before Whited nailed a three to close it back to 36-35. Jones added a pair of freethrows to put VHS back on top 37-36 with just 8 seconds left in the first half.
And that was the score at the end of a wild first half of action.
In the third period of the game, the Warriors outscored VHS 24-16 as they took the lead and were on top 60-53 heading to the fourth period. In that fourth period, the Indians returned the favor as they outpaced Tattnall 2412 on their way to a 77-72 win over the Warriors.
VHS was led by Dalley with 26 points, Whited added 14 points, Washington scored 10, and Owens and Powell each posted 9 in the win.
This week VHS is hosting the Paul Thigpen Christmas Classic. The tournament kicked off on Monday.
There are 16 teams representing 11 schools from around southeast Georgia and Florida that will play 20 games over a three-day period with Vidalia High School serving as the host school.
“We are excited to have a group of great athletes come to Vidalia and participate in the tournament,’ said Paul Thigpen of The Paul Thigpen Automotive Group. 'Coach Dalley and his staff and volunteers do a great job running the tournament and making sure that everyone has an enjoyable time. Plus, they bring in quality teams which create exciting matchups over the three days.” Thigpen added.
The tournament got underway at noon on the 27th with the Jefferson County Girls taking on Long County. Each day will end with the Vidalia teams playing the last game of the day.
Vidalia Head Basketball Coach Tommy Dalley says that this year’s field is very talented. “The field for this year’s Christmas Classic is loaded with talented teams for both girls and boys. We have several local teams that have agreed to play as well as Paxon HS from Jacksonville, FL, coached by former Vidalia Assistant Coach Kenny Elliott. This is a fantastic event for us locally that brings 11 different schools into our city over a span of three days for some really high-end basketball.”
Games on Wednesday will begin at 11:00 a.m. VHS's girls will play at 6:30 p.m. against Tattnall County, and the boys will wrap up the tournament at 8:00 p.m. against the Tigers of Metter.
The cost for each day is $7 per person and tickets may be purchased in advance or at the gate using a Debit or Credit Card. Only VHS Booster passes and GHSA passes will be honored.
Makaila Wardlaw drives in as the Lady Indians continue to fight late in their game with the Tattnall Lady Warriors.Photo by Mike Branch
