Miller girls survive early game scare, Neal boys cruise to win

The T.R. Miller girls survived a scare Friday against W.S. Neal picking up the victory 35-26. The WSN boys took control of the whole game against TRM, defeating the Tigers 59-38.

The Lady Eagles led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, finishing the quarter on a 5-0 run.

In the second quarter Miller answered back, outscoring Neal 11-3. Miller led 18-14 at half time.

Neal came out strong in the third quarter behind KeKe Floyd who scored the team’s eight points in the quarter. Miller’s Mekhia Williams scored her team’s only three points in the quarter. Neal led 22-21 at the end of the third.

Miller went on a 7-2 run to begin the fourth that forced Neal to call a timeout. After the timeout Miller added two more buckets by Kyla Bell and Williams. Free throws by Morgan Longemire and Williams sealed the Tiger victory. Miller outscored Neal 14-4 in the fourth quarter.

“(Neal) was mentally fired up and ready to play,” said TRM head coach Ron Jackson. “We played a little over confident.  I don’t think mentally we were prepared to play today. We did a pretty good job defensively. We wore them down and we got a chance to beat them in the end.”

Neal head coach Dewan Salter said the game came down to missed opportunities late in the game.

“The girls played extremely hard,” Salter said. “We just couldn’t get the shots to fall when we needed them the most.”

Leading Neal was Keke Floyd with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Leading TRM was Mekhia Williams with 16 points.

Neal is 9-12 for the season.

Miller is 19-3 and is riding a 17-game winning streak.

For the boys, the Eagles jumped out the gate, going on an 8-3 run. Neal closed out the quarter strong after a three pointer by senior Treylon Watson to give itself a 13-3 lead going into the second quarter.

The second was a high-powered scoring quarter for both offenses. Neal scored 18 points in the quarter and Miller scored 17. At the half Neal led 31-20.

Neal’s Tyshawn Davis led the Eagles with nine points in the third. Miller’s Chardian Johnson did his best effort to keep the Tiger’s close scoring six points in the quarter. Neal led 43-29 at the end of the third.

The fourth quarter proved all Neal as the Eagles outscored Miller 16-9 to close out the game.

WSN head coach Dewan Salter said he was proud of his team’s effort.

“We’re playing with a positive attitude and awesome effort,” Salter said. “You put those two together and you get a great performance. I thought we played better on defense, slowly getting better and that’s something I’m proud of.”

TRM head coach Juan Johnson said his team just didn’t make enough plays to be competitive.

“Tonight we just didn’t get it done,” Johnson said. “We had some opportunities early but we just didn’t make the plays. We will go back and look at the film like we have done all season and find a way to get back on track.”

Leading Miller was Chardian Johnson with 12 points.

Leading Neal was Tyshawn Davis with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Miller is 8-10 for the season.

Neal is 17-6 for the season

Neal will play Flomaton Thurs., Feb. 4 in Flomaton. The Eagles will close out its regular season on Friday at Robertsdale.

Miller will play it’s last regular season game at home against Escambia County on Friday. Seniors will be honored.