Monroe basketball teams split with Colquitt County

ALBANY — The No. 6-ranked Golden Tornadoes of Monroe picked up a 63-42 win over Colquitt County Tuesday night to improve their early-season record to 4-1, while the Lady Golden Tornadoes lost by a 53-47 margin.

The Packers (0-5) controlled things early by keeping the pace slow and led 10-7 at the end of the first period. However, in the second quarter, Monroe (4-1) took over and got their fast-paced offense clicking. The Packers kept trying to play a half-court game and keep Monroe from getting loose, but the Monroe defense forced several turnovers that turned into points.

On one play, Andrico Jackson stole the ball and raced down the court and threw an alley-oop pass to Domonik Henderson, who slammed the ball through for two points. Henderson then scored the next three baskets — including a long 3-pointer from the top of the key which put the Tornadoes up 21-14.

The second half saw Colquitt pick up the pace of their own game and match Monroe’s speed. It worked early in the third, but a full-court press by the Tornadoes forced turnovers on three straight possessions and the home team was up 47-25 with 1:25 remaining in the third. With Monroe up 51-29 after three quarters, both teams saw lots of young players in the final period.

Henderson led all scorers with 23 points including hitting 8 of 10 free throw attempts. Justin Burns added 12 for the Tornadoes. Avari Blackwell scored 13 to lead the Packers.

The girls game started out disastrous for the Lady Tornadoes of Monroe. Colquitt County (3-3) built a 24-4 lead in the first quarter as the Lady Packers seemingly made every shot they threw up while the Lady Tornadoes did not hit one single basket the entire quarter. Monroe had four points on the board thanks to four free throws.

Coach Jennifer Acree’s Monroe (2-3) team didn’t quit, however. The Lady Tornadoes got their first two-point basket with 6:34 remaining in the first half when Hannah Edwards drove into the lane and put the ball into the basket. Monroe played well against the Lady Packers and slowly began chipping away at that huge deficit. Jkhya Hatcher hit two baskets and nailed a free throw after each one to help get the Lady Tornado offense working.

By the end of the third quarter, the score was 44-29 — still 15 points down but a fourth-quarter rally by Monroe closed the gap to only three points 49-46 when Alliyah Robison hit two baskets in a row. The Lady Packers held on at the end with a full-court press and hitting some key free throws.

Carliss Johnson, who scored 11 first-quarter points for the Lady Pack led all scorers with 19. Freshman Amareyia Knighton added 17 for the winners. Robinson led Monroe with 16 points and Hatcher followed with 10.

Joe WhitfieldJoe Whitfield