AVON — Simmons High School boys basketball coach Carl Lucas is still trying to understand what type of young team he has, but on Tuesday night his Blue Devils did enough to pull away early and then hold on for a 61-45 road victory against Riverside High School.
Senior Tekevion Green, sophomore Anterrian Hawkins and senior Stemarion Edwards all scored 10 points to lead a balanced Simmons scoring attack against the Bulldogs.
Simmons (2-1) took a 26-14 lead into halftime, and then never let the Bulldogs get to within eight points in the second half.
Coach Lucas is returning to coach the Blue Devils after a year away where he worked in administrative. With so many new faces on his team this year, the coach said each new game is a chance for him and his players to learn.
“It is really hard to say what this team can accomplish because we are getting off to a late start to the season,” Coach Lucas said. “The biggest thing I am trying to teach them is to be disciplined.”
Simmons’ lone loss this season was to O’Bannon, who the Blue Devils are scheduled to host Friday night.
Jonathan Richardson led Riverside with 17 points.
Myles Edwards and D’Vonta Gatson scored eight points each, and Johnny Williams scored six points for the Bulldogs (2-4).
Simmons built a 17-point lead at the end of the third quarter, but Riverside’s Edwards made a layup to cut the Blue Devil lead to 10 points with five minutes left in the game.
Riverside Coach Eddie Wade said his team’s slow start against the Blue Devils was costly. Riverside’s next game is scheduled against St. Joseph Catholic School on Saturday.
“We were not ready at the beginning of the game,” Coach Wade said. “We had some nice stretches where we played hard but it wasn’t enough.”
