No. 12 Jacksonville Improves to 24-0 With 49-22 Rout of Lindale

JACKSONVILLE -- Pressure defense has been the staple of early success for the 2012-13 Jacksonville Indians.

Friday night was no different as the Indians collected 21 steals en route to a 49-22 man-handling of the Lindale Eagles in the District 16-4A opener for both teams.

Jacksonville (24-0, 1-0), No. 12 in Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, outscored the Eagles 30-13 in the second half, and held Lindale (9-11, 0-1) to six made shots for the entire game.

Jacksonville's scoring was balanced throughout the roster, with Londedric Taylor leading the way with nine points, Kedarius Buckingham and Chris Cross added eight, and Jeremy McAnally and Dadrian Franklin combined for 14 points.

The Jacksonville defense harassed Lindale all game with Raybon Riden, Kevin Lybrand, Taylor, and Franklin all collecting three steals apiece. Lindale's ball-handlers were flustered all night, especially after the first quarter, as the pressure defense wore down the Eagles as the game progressed.

Up three to start the second, Jacksonville started a 10-3 run with a Taylor steal and bucket. Then Ozzie Clayborne found a cutting Cross for the layup and assist, followed by a McAnally triple, and it was 19-9 going into halftime.

"I told the kids at halftime the defense was great," said Jacksonville coach Brent Kelley. "I didn't have any complaints about our offensive execution, we just weren't making shots. We weren't finishing layups. In the third quarter we held them to three points and finally started to make some shots. We controlled the tempo a little better, and when we did that, we put up 30 points in the second half without scoring in the final three minutes of the game."

Jacksonville started the second half with a Taylor dribble-drive and kick-out to Franklin, who drained a three-pointer. After Buckingham drew a charge, Riden got a steal and an uncontested layup to push the lead to 26-13. The next series was the definition of ball movement as the Franklin hit Buckingham with a backdoor assisit and lay-in to put the Indians up 28-13. After Buckingham drew his second charge of the night, McAnally shot-faked, and drove to the hoop, pulled up and banked one of the glass with :42 seconds left for a 36-13 Jacksonville advantage.

When Franklin snatched another steal and threw down a tomahawk jam early in the fourth, it was 43-14 and Jacksonville was rolling.

Lindale was led by Mason Terry's six points, including two three-pointers, while Zach Huseth and Court Brown combined for 14 rebounds.

Jacksonville travels to Corsicana on Tuesday, while Lindale hosts Nacogdoches as District 16-4A play continues.

Twin Towers Power Lady Eagles to District Win Over Jacksonville

Led by a pair of 6-2 posts, the Lindale Lady Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Maidens, 54-41.

The junior tandem of Zhanelle Geathers and Natasha Malone combined for 28 points and 16 rebounds. Geathers added four assists and Malone chimed in with three blocks.

Lindale (19-4, 3-0), No. 18 in Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, led 36-33 heading into the fourth quarter and outscored Jacksonville (14-12, 1-2) 18-7 in the final stanza to pull out the win.

Jacksonville's Jasmin Parson had a game-high 18 points, three assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Jacksonville opened the second quarter with a floater by Parson, followed by a nice dish from Parson to Damonica Franklin, and it was 14-13 Lindale. The Lady Eagles responded when Geathers found Malone for the left-handed layup. After Jacksonville's Chaneii Scott drove for the and-1, Parson had a nice layup, cutting to the hole, off an assist from Keerie Mathis, cutting Lindale's lead to 23-20 at halftime.

Parson opened the fourth with a strong drive to the hoop for the lay-in, then Lindale scored the next 10 points, starting with a steal by Geathers as she went coast-to-coast for the layup. After a Malone offensive rebound and putback, Geathers had a nice entry pass to Neeley Doss for the assist and bucket, pushing the lead to 10. Lindale led by as many as 16 in the final minutes before Jacksonville whittled it down to 13.