In perhaps the Delta’s most hotly contested non district rivalry, the Gentry High School Rams boys swept the Greenville High Hornets 59-42 in the Highway 82 series. Hornets fans had reason to hope from the opening tip as senior guard Morgan Green secured a wayward ball and made an uncontested layup for the first basket of the game. But, Gentry held Greenville High scoreless in the second quarter as the Rams slowly extended their lead in the frame. Beating the Hornets to loose balls, rebounds and to passing lanes, the Rams had trouble finding the bottom of the basket until senior forward Jesse Hull started exploiting a soft spot in the Hornets zone defense by drifting toward the free throw line for uncontested jumpers.
“To be honest, they were the hungrier team tonight,” said Hornets head coach Delmar Sprouse. “We did execute well tonight and we didn’t give our fans the effort that they deserved especially with a packed house tonight.” Hull’s six second quarter points helped Gentry extend to a 25-11 halftime lead.
First quarter action was frantic and nip and tuck in the first quarter. Gentry maintained slim leads throughout the fist stanza and opened up to a 14-8 lead after going on a 6-0 run at the two-minute mark. Gentry led 17-11 after one quarter .
Junior forward Dekobe Lewis broke Hornets scoring drought with a baby hook off of an offensive rebound at the 6:35 mark of the third quarter. The Hornets showed some offensive life in the third in back to back buckets by Green and the big center. However, the Rams continued to out hustle the Hornets and pursue the ball with more desire. By the 1:54 mark of the third, Gentry had doubled up the Hornets at 40-20. Gentry led 42-25 after three quarters of play. The Hornets had their best offensive output in the fourth quarter by putting up 17 points but by that time Gentry had command of the game. Hull led all scores with 15. Jaquan Roberson led the Hornets with 11 points.
