Byne Christian sweeps two from Pataula Charter

EDISON — The Byne Christian School Saints and Lady Saints took games from the Pataula Charter Academy Panthers Thursday night in Edison with the girls winning 30-18 and the boys taking a big win with a 75-53 final. The games Thursday were made up from an earlier date where the games were canceled because of the weather.

Freshman Kylee Williams swished a three-pointer on the first possession for the Lady Saints but after that scoring was difficult to come by for the remainder of the first half. Byne led 5-4 after the first quarter and the two teams were tied 9-9 at the half.

The Lady Saints got going a little stronger in the second half and pulled away with another three by Williams and then three straight baskets by Jayden Watts put the Lady Saints up 25-14.

“We played much better in the second half than we did in the first,” said Byne head coach Paul Malone. “The girls were upset with how they played in the first half. This group is probably the toughest I’ve had at Byne, they will go right through a wall if they need to.”

Williams led the Lady Saints with 15 points and Watts added 10. Ashanti Cannon led the Lady Panthers with eight points.

In the boy’s game the Saints built an early 15-6 lead with a full court press that gave the Saints easy points off turnovers before the Panthers figured out how to get through the press. Finally, the Panthers broke through with a basket by JyKerious Davis. Davis then hit two three-pointers as the Panthers closed the gap to 19-17 at the end of the first period.

In the second quarter the Saints pulled back the defense to a zone that kept the Panthers out of the paint and forced them to shoot from the outside. The two teams were tied 23-23 when Byne went on a 16-0 run to go up 39-23 before Brent Wiley hit a free throw to end the scoring drought. By that time, the Saints were in complete control and led 41-26 at the half.

The second half belonged to the Saints as well as they were able to drive through the Panther zone defense or find open passes or shots for easy points. The only thing Byne couldn’t stop was Wiley. Wiley scored 19 second half points to keep the Panthers in the game.

Morris Fountain put in 19 points to lead the Saints while Jake Dismuke nailed three three-pointers and scored 17 points on the night. Caleb Willams knocked down 16 and Dekerien Walton added 12.

Wiley led all scorers and the Panthers with 24 points.

A photo gallery from Thursday’s games can be found at AlbanyHerald.com.

Staff Photos: Joe Whitfield
Staff Photo: Joe Whitfield