Lee Academy from Arkansas came to the Delta and tangled with the Rebels. They left with one win. The North Sunflower Academy Rebels boys basketball teams picked up a 39-38 JV win and a 58-50 varsity win. The NSA Lady Rebel JV Fab Five picked up a 44-14 win while the varsity Lady Rebels fell, 75-30.
Rebel Head Co-Coach Brenda Cummins wasn’t happy with the play of her JV team despite the win.
“I was not impressed with them. They did not play well but they got the win,” Coach Cummins said. “But it was not pretty.”
Willie Washington led the JV boys in scoring with 18 while Quando Townsend added 14 points and Bryce Redwine chipped in with seven.
The varsity was led by Junior Washington with 25 points – he finished with a game-ending slam dunk – while DD Williams had 12 points, Corey Coleman and Brandon Daniels each had nine points and Nick Billhofer had three points to push the Rebels’ overall record to 4-9.
“They played well. Hopefully we can get another district win next week,” she said.
The second conference win helps them in getting ready for an upcoming district tournament. The NSA teams travel to Lee Academy Arkansas next Monday and finish the regular season with a matchup with Deer Creek.
Lady Rebel Head Coach Anthony Rivera put the pressure on Lee early with his Fab Five JV press but called off the pressure in the second half once the game was out of hand.
“Everybody contributed, we played great defense in the JV game,” Coach Rivera said. “The Fab Five is still fabulous. They played a great game defensive-wise that led to a lot of scoring. We pulled away early in the first half. We were up by 11 after one quarter. We called off the press in the second half.
The varsity game was a complete reverse. Coach Rivera had prepared for Lee’s best player with a “Box and 1” defense but Lee “shot us out of the zone in the first half.” Lee hit nine three pointers in the first quarter alone.
“We were out of the game already,” he said. “We were down 27-10 and they just kept going. We did hold them scoreless in the fourth.”
Coach Rivera has been studying game film and noted that his team hasn’t lost all four quarters in one game. They’ve just given up some big quarters.
“They’ve had moments where they play the game well then our opponents who have the experience and camaraderie will go on a run and we’re always battling back from a big quarter run. I’m proud how they are closing out the season. They are scoring and communicating. I’m hoping to make a big run in the tournament.”
The varsity girls are in sixth place in the six team district and all teams made the tournament.
“I’m looking forward to it. In the tournament, every team is 0 and 0. It doesn’t matter what you did in the regular season,” he said. “We have the potential and the scores don’t tell the whole story. It’s the little intangibles that trip us up. But they haven’t given up this whole season. Knowing they have a fighting chance, they keep fighting.”
His JV team, in his estimation, could make a good run in the tournament if he can get by the teams with more depth.
“That’s a battle within itself but I’ve got faith in my teams,” he said. “We’re going to go out there and compete and let the chips fall where they fall.”
NSA travels to Lee Academy Arkansas on Monday and then hosts Deer Creek on Tuesday. The JV District Tournament begins on January 24 and runs through January 28 and is hosted by Marvell Academy.
