McGill-Toolen 65, Spanish Fort 43: Defending Class 7A champs beat Toros for the second time this season
Posted December 8, 2016
McGill-Toolen 65, Spanish Fort 43: Defending Class 7A champs beat Toros for the second time this season
on December 06, 2016 10:45 PM, updated December 07, 2016 11:48 AM
-
12/06 - 4:23 PM Boys Basketball Final 65 43
Larry Rembert had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to help lead visiting McGill-Toolen to a huge 65-43 triumph over Spanish Fort on Tuesday night.
Matthew McNeece added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (8-4). Meanwhile, Spanish Fort (7-2) was led in scoring by Terrin Atkinson, who had a game-high 21 points and four 3-pointers while Jalen Wayne added nine points.
The victory marked the second time in less than three weeks that McGill-Toolen had beaten the Toros. The Yellow Jackets won 60-57 in overtime on November 17 on their home court.
The game was tight at the beginning with McGill-Toolen holding a slim 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets exploded for 20 points in the second period, however, to blow the game open and take a 32-23 lead at halftime over Spanish Fort.
The Toros rallied at the start of the third quarter though, going on a 9-2 burst thanks in part to two 3-pointers from Wayne to knot the game up at 34-34 with 4:25 left in the period. McGill-Toolen put together a 6-0 run the rest of the quarter, capped by a basket from Oakley Coleman to go up 40-34 heading into the fourth period.
The Yellow Jackets then cruised in the final eight minutes, outscoring the Toros 25-9.
-- Star of the game: Rembert, less than a week after finishing the football season, seemed to be in every big play for McGill-Toolen on the night, pulling down 10 rebounds while also scoring 14 points.
-- By the numbers: 2 - the number of losses for Spanish Fort this season, both at the hands of McGill-Toolen. 4 - the number of 3-pointers Spanish Fort's Atkinson nailed in the game. 11- the number of free throws that McGill-Toolen knocked down in the game out of 19 shots. 9 - the number of free throws that Spanish Fort nailed in the game out of 17 charity shots.
-- Quotable: "I told our kids to hang with it. Spanish Fort's players hit some big shots in the game, that's what kept their team in it. I just told our team to keep battling. I thought we had a dominating performance tonight on the glass. We wanted to hit more free throws and get more rebounds and attack everything. I felt like we dominated the game from start to finish. Credit to Spanish Fort, they had some guys that made some shots that kept them in it." - McGill-Toolen coach Phillip Murphy.
-- They said it: "I was pleased with our effort coming out in the third quarter. We kind of lost focus tough after we tied things up though. McGill-Toolen has a good team. They went on a run, and we didn't respond the way that I hoped we would. Their team played harder than our team did tonight, they deserved to win." - Spanish Fort coach Dru Powell.
"I felt like I was confident going into the game. My teammates and I were able to get a big win tonight." - Rembert.