Tatum Boys Pester Waskom in 59-45 Victory + Tatum Girls Rout Waskom 66-23

TATUM -- Tatum forced more Waskom turnovers than the Wildcats scored points in the first half, and the Eagles got a big third quarter-ending play for a second-half boost.

Tatum's Robbie Rockwell chased down his own miss for a buzzer-beating corner three-pointer for a 10-point Tatum lead that spurred the Eagles to a 59-45 District 17-2A victory over Waskom on Friday at Eagle Coliseum.

After falling behind 36-21 early in the third quarter, Waskom fought back, cutting Tatum's lead to 38-33 on a 12-2 run fueled by Raymond Purvis' six points. Tatum clung to a 44-37 lead on the third quarter's final possession, when Rockwell missed a contested right-wing three-pointer, chased down the loose ball in front of the Tatum bench, dribbled to the right corner and launched an off-balance three-pointer to beat the horn for a 47-37 lead going to the fourth.

After Rockwell's three-pointer, Waskom (11-5, 0-2) got no closer than nine points.

"That was huge. That's a hustle play. That's the difference in those games," said Tatum coach Brett Carr. "I felt like (Waskom) got on the floor for some things that if we would've gotten on the floor would've broken our lead open a litlte more. But we played 10 or 11 kids and they got after it. It wasn't always pretty, but they got after it."

Tatum forced 11 first-quarter turnovers and led 17-14 entering the second, when the Eagles stretched their lead to 31-19 by halftime thanks to 21 Waskom turnovers. Waskom finished with 31 turnovers to Tatum's 10.

Rockwell finished with 18 points on 4-for-13 three-point shooting and 6-for-6 free-throw shooting. Rockwell hit 4 of 4 free-throw attempts in the final 48.3 seconds to ice the game for the Eagles (19-6, 3-0), who visit defending Class 2A state champion White Oak (19-1, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Roughnecks' E.B. Carrington Gymnasium. Jahee Johnson had 10 points and five rebounds, while Cole Hughes added 10 points. Javolick Garrett had eight points, four steals, and three assists.

"I thought our kids came out and did a great job," Carr said. "I thought we did a poor job in the second half of maintaining our urgency. We had some lulls in the second half. ... I didn't think we seized the moment. We had a chance to blow put the game away and we didn't do a very good job of it."

Purvis led Waskom with 16 points and five rebounds. William McKnight had eight points and four rebounds, while Kevin Johnson had seven points and four boards. Tatum limited the Waskom big man Kris Monroe's touches thanks to the Eagles' pressure defense. Monroe had five points, but grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. JuneBug Johnson had five points and four rebounds.

Tatum used a 12-0 second-quarter run to take a 31-18 lead late in the period. A technical on Waskom helped the run, which Johnson capped with a three-point play.

Carr, who is a White Oak graduate, said his players are fired up about Tuesday's district showdown against the Roughnecks.

"It's the Oak. It'll be a war. I hope we can keep up with them," Carr said. "They'll be fast and furious and they've got some talented basketball kids. Anytime you put a 6-7 kid (Levi Yancy) on the floor that's a difference-maker. I think our kids are excited for it."

Tatum Girls Build Big Halftime Lead, Cruise to 66-23 Victory Over Waskom

TATUM -- Tatum's girls took a page out of the football team's playbook, building what looked like a six-touchdown halftime lead en route to a 66-23 blowout of Waskom at Eagle Coliseum.

Kiana Turner scored a game-high 23 points to lead Tatum, which improved to 21-2 overall and 5-0 in District 17-2A play. Teammate Amee Smith scored 12 points and Alexes Bell added nine.

Tatum visits White Oak on Tuesday.

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District 17-2A
Boys Basketball Game

Tatum 59, Waskom 45

Eagle Coliseum, Tatum

Waskom -- 14 5 18 8 -- 45
Tatum -- 17 14 16 12 -- 59

Waskom (11-5, 0-2) -- Raymond Purvis 16, William McKnight 8, Kevin Johnson 7, JuneBug Johnson 5, Kris Monroe 5, Damarcus Mitchell 2, Trey Stephens 2.
Tatum (19-6, 3-0) -- Robbie Rockwell 18, Cole Hughes 10, Jahee Johnson 10, Javolick Garrett 8, Casey Carr 4, Shaq Johnson 3, Devante Alexander 2, Donovan Centers 2, Klifton Willis 2.