Monticello retains “Showdown in M-Town” trophy against Drew Central

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The annual “Showdown in M-Town” was held this past Friday night on the campus of Drew Central High School with three contests on the schedule with the school that won 2 of 3 would take home the “Showdown” trophy.

Monticello would come into Drew Central as the reigning “Showdown” champion after reclaiming the trophy a season ago at home.

This season, the contest would open with the Junior Lady Pirates taking on the Junior Lady Billies.

The Junior Lady Billies would begin the contest, winning the opening tip and would get the first points of the contest on a two-point shot by Mariah Jenkins.

KiveEra Gipson would get the Junior Lady Pirates on the board to tie the contest at two.

Monticello would get the next four points in the contest on another two-pointer by Jenkins and a Two by Jasmyne Harris.

Anesia Lucas would give the Junior Lady Pirates the lead, scoring the next six points to take an 8-6 lead, but Kyleigh Coleman would connect with eight seconds remaining in the quarter to tie the contest at eight at the end of the first quarter.

Neither team would get a lot going offensively in the second quarter with Drew Central besting Monticello by a single point, 5-4 in the quarter to hold a 13-12 lead at the half.

Monticello would come back in the third quarter to outscore Drew Central 10-5 in the quarter to hold a 22-18 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Junior Lady Billies would maintain their lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring Drew Central 8-5 to take the first contest in the “Showdown” by a final score of 30-23.

For the Junior Lady Billies, Mariah Jenkins and JaNiyah Goodman led the way with 10 points followed by Jasmyne Harris with five.

Kyleigh Coleman and Jacie Coleman scored two with Lexi Bowman scoring one.

Kaelyn Miller led the way for the Junior Lady Pirates with 12 points followed by Anesia Lucas with eight.

KiveEra Gipson scored 2 with Jayda Jones rounding out the scoring with one point.

The Lady Pirates and Lady Billies would take the floor in the second contest.

The Lady Pirates would get control of the opening tip and with three seconds off the clock, Makayla MIller would get the Lady Pirates on the board with a pair of free throws.

Niyyah Collins would get the first two points for the Lady Billies followed by a two by Anniyah Smith for the 4-2 lead.

Drew Central would get the next three points for a 5-4 lead before Monticello went on a 5-0 run to lead 9-5.

Monticello would outscore the Lady Pirates in the quarter 13-8 in the quarter to hold the advantage heading into the second quarter.

The Lady Pirates would get eight points from Amari Lucas in the second quarter as the LadyPirates scored 19 second quarter points to outscore Monticello 19-10 in the quarter to take hold a four point, 27-23, lead at the halftime break.

The Lady Pirates would continue to have the advantage in the third quarter with Makayla Miller scoring six points in the quarter as the Lady Pirates would score 19 points in their consecutive quarter, outscoring Monticello 19-9 in the quarter to take a 14 point, 46-32, lead into the fourth quarter.

Monticello’s Anniyah Smith would lead the Lady Billies in the fourth quarter with six points as the Lady Billies would outscore Drew Central 17-12 in the final quarter with Drew Central holding onto a nine-point, 58-49, victory to even the “Showdown” at a game apiece.

For the Lady Pirates, Makayla Miller led the way with 16 points followed by Amari Lucas with 13, and Bailey Chapman with 10.

KZ Gipson added eight, Chloe Anderson with seven, and Toni Fuller and Alexis Woods with two points each.

Niyyah Collins and Anniyah Smith would lead the way for the Lady Billies with 11 points each followed by Chyna Daniels and Genesis Freeman with seven.

Zariyah Gaston would score six with Elisia Brown with four and Ryah Ridgell scoring three.

With the “Showdown in M-Town” coming down to the final game of the night, the Drew Central Pirates and Monticello Billies took to the court in the diciding contest.

Drew Central would control the opening tip, but it would be the Billies that would get the first points of the contest on a two point shot by Peyton Strickland.

Alex Preddy would get the Pirates on the board with a two under the goal.

Monticello would hold an 8-6 advantage with 1:54 remaining in the quarter, but the Pirates would score the next six points to outscore 12-8 for a four point lead at the end of the quarter.

Joseph Accelus would get the first points of the second quarter for the Billies with Blake Chandler scoring the first four points for the Pirates for a 16-10 lead.

Both teams would play evenly on the scoreboard in the second quarter with both teams scoring 10 points in the quarter with the Pirates holding a 22-18 lead at the half.

Drew Central would have their best scoring output of the contest in the third quarter.

Blake Chandler would score 10 points in the quarter with the Pirates scoring 20 third quarter points.

The Billies would not get overtaken in the quarter as they would also score in double digits in the quarter, scoring 16 points with the Pirates holding on to an eight point, 42-34, lead heading into the final quarter.

With the “Showdown in M-Town” set to be decided in the final eight minutes, it would be the Monticello Billies that would gain the momentum in the final stanza.

The Billies would score in double-digits in the fourth quarter with the Billie defense shutting out the Pirates, outscoring Drew Central 11-0 in the quarter to overtake the Pirates on the scoreboard to retain the “Showdown in M-Town” trophy with a three point, 45-42, victory.

The Billie would be led on the scoreboard by Peyton Strickland who scored 18 points in the game.

Christian Webb scored eight points with Rohan Patel adding six points.

Joseph Accelus and Xavier Williams each scored five with Jayden Rhodes rounding out the scoring with three points.

For the Drew Central Pirates, Blake Chandler would lead the way with 16 points.

Tra’Bennett Fuller and Zae Bullard would each score seven points followed by Jeremiah Bodiford with five points.

Jayden Jones would round out the Pirate scoring with three points.

Both Monticello and Drew Central will close out the year in the annual Commercial Bank Southeast Arkansas Holiday Tournament that will be held at Drew Central beginning on Friday, December 27.

The Lady Billies will face Rison on Friday with an 11:20 am tipoff scheduled with the Lady Pirates set to take the court around 6 pm with their opening round opponent being Maumelle.

Both the Pirates and Billies will also play on Friday.