Randolph-Clay squeezes Charles Henderson

OZARK — Randolph-Clay desperately needed a victory — and that’s exactly how they played.

The Red Devils’ tight zone press, coupled with tenacious half-court man-to-man, squeezed Charles Henderson in the second half.

Tyrone Kellogg’s Devils beat the Trojans 60-49 in Saturday’s first game of the Dothan Progress/Dothan Eagle/Southern Star Holiday Prep Classic, presented by The Cochran Firm.

“We just had to get a win,” said Kellogg, whose young team improved to 4-7. “We’ve had so many games like this. We’ve been in every game, it’s just nice to finish one off the right way.”

Randolph-Clay is making its first return to this tournament since it won it five years in a row from 1996-2000.

The early pace of the game was blistering and entertaining. Five lead changes and five ties dotted the first quarter. Henderson’s Daris Wilson hit a 3-pointer to put the Trojans up 14-13 with 2:30 left in the quarter.

Jabari Brown gave Henderson a 16-15 lead with two of his team-high 15 points — all but 12 of which came in the first half.

Stephen Baker’s jumper at the end of the quarter made it 20-17 CHHS after the opening period.

Brown hit a tough 12-foot jumper that gave the Trojans their largest lead, 30-24, with 4:35 left in the half. Wilson matched that with a jumper that made it 32-26 with 3:41.

But Randolph-Clay went on a 12-2 run to close out the half. Freshman Zuriel Muhammad, at 5-foot-6 the smallest man on the court, made consecutive 3-pointers that gave his team a 36-32 lead. He also hit a jumper in the final 20 seconds that sent the Red Devils to the locker room with a 38-34 advantage.

“He made some big shots for us,” Kellogg said of Muhammad. “Our young players played well. We start a freshman and three sophomores.”

Muhammad was the only player in double figures for the Red Devils. However, every player scored. Senior Ryan Spann had nine points and senior Janarius Mitchell scored seven.

But where the Red Devils excelled was defensively. Charles Henderson, limited to many one-shot possessions, couldn’t maintain its scoring pace. The Trojans, who fell to 4-7, scored just 15 second-half points.

“In the first half, they were getting one shot, but they were making it,” Kellogg said. “They got one shot in the second half and we were getting the rebound.”

Henderson tried moving point guard Daris Wilson to shooting guard, but had trouble getting into their offense.

“We played trashy,” Trojans coach Carl Hollis said. “Too many outside shots. We didn’t penetrate. We didn’t pass the ball inside.
“They got second-chance points because were standing on the floor. Like I said, trashy.”

Brown led the Trojans with 15 and Daris Wilson scored 13. However, they were held to three points each in the second half.

Randolph-Clay scored 10 straight points early in the third quarter to open an 11-point lead at 48-37. The Red Devils took a 52-42 edge into the fourth quarter. The game got no closer than seven points when Brown made a three-point play with 2:40 left that made it 56-49.