A new calendar year ushers in today’s return to District 1AAA competition by the Indianola Academy Colonels basketball team.
Owning a 4-6, 2-0 record, the Colonels will be taking a trip to Bayou Academy in Cleveland for today’s important match-up.
While tip-off for this road trip is scheduled for 7 p.m., this Saturday on their own court the Colonels will take on the top-ranked Heritage Academy Patriots of Columbus.
A 2 p.m. tip-off is expected for this non-district match-up against the defending Overall State Champion Patriots, who are on track to once again seriously compete for the crown.
As for their most recent participation in last week’s Kirk Academy tournament in Grenada, the IA squad closed out the 2018 portion of their schedule with one victory in three court appearances.
It was last Saturday’s final game of the tournament in which the Colonels claimed their win by way of a nail-biting 42-41 decision over Washington School of Greenville.
With both teams nearly trading point for point throughout the game, a 23-22 IA halftime lead proved to be the difference in the game’s outcome.
The Colonels received double digit scoring from a trio of players in this contest and Randy Kimble’s 14 points paced the attack.
However, a strong double double performance was received from Stefon Smith as the senior pumped 13 points through the basket while pulling down 14 rebounds.
Also reaching double figures in scoring with a 10 point game was DeDe Willis.
This IA victory was preceded by a pair of losses as last Friday saw Canton Academy claim a 65-53 win over the Colonels. Additional action last Thursday resulted in a narrow 52-49 loss to Leake Academy of Madden.
Against Canton Academy, Kimble’s 16 points led IA’s offensive efforts while Willis contributed a dozen points.
Once again, Smith was a force under the basket by pulling down 14 rebounds against the Panthers.
In their three point loss last Thursday to a strong Leake Academy squad, the Colonels overcame a three point first half deficit to knot the score at 33 points by the end of the third frame.
However, the Rebels used a 19-16 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to claim the game.
Smith’s second double double of the tournament included 14 points and 17 rebounds while Willis led the scoring for IA with his 17 point outing.
