Sylva Bay gets huge district road sweep

Southern Sports & Travel

District 6-A just got a little clearer following last night’s Sylva Bay trip to Purvis to take on district foe Lamar Christian.

Sylva Bay swept Lamar Christian and in doing so took over the boys and girls top spots in district play.

Craig Campbell scored 18 points to lead the third ranked Saints to a 51-48 win in which Sylva Bay led for all but the first five minutes of the contest.

Grant Nygaard’s basket in the paint at the 3:34 mark of the opening quarter gave Sylva Bay their first lead of the night at 8-6.

Lamar Christian, ranked eighth, would immediately notch the contest at 8-8 on a Samuel Hannabass 18 foot jumper but Sylva Bay would close the quarter on a 9-0 run fueled by Craig Campbell who nailed three 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the quarter to give the Saints a 17-8 lead.

Grant Nygaard of Sylva Bay slams one home in the first quarter

Lamar Christian would find themselves down by 11 points at the 4:09 mark of the second quarter after Sylva Bay’s Dee Callentine hit on one of two free throws but the Lions reeled off three straight baskets to trim the deficit to 25-20 with 2:06 remaining in the half.

Sylva Bay would ultimately take a 29-24 edge into intermission.

Lamar Christian got the jump start they needed to open the third quarter as Jordan Browning  scored in the paint on the Lions first two possessions to pull to within a point at 29-28 but Sylva Bay never failed to answer the entire contest.

After Sylva Bay’s Kendrick Abney hit one of two free throws Thomas Tullos would extend the lead to 32-28 with a steal and conversion. Another Abney free throw was followed by a Juwan Payton transition bucket to cap a 6-0 run and give the Saints breathing room at 35-28 with 3:16 left in the quarter.

Lamar Christian would finish the third quarter with a 6-2 run to close the gap to 37-34 and keep the pressure on the third ranked team in Class A.

Craig Campbell’s 15 foot jumper from the baseline with 2:42 remaining in regulation pushed Sylva Bay’s lead to seven points at 47-40 and appeared to have stymied any chances of a late game comeback from Lamar Christian but the Saints showed little interest in burning off the clock, missing jumpers from the perimeter almost resulting in a complete collapse.

Lamar Christian quickly scored on three straight possessions to narrow the Sylva Bay advantage to 47-46 with 1:29 still left to play.

With Sylva Bay holding on to a 49-48 lead Lamar Christian grabbed a rebound off a Saint missed jumper but the Lions would commit a critical turnover giving possession back to Sylva Bay.

Lamar Christian would put Sylva Bay’s Kendrick Abney on the free throw line and get another shot as Abney connected on one of two free throws to give the Saints a slim 50-48 edge with 29 seconds remaining but a charge on the Lion’s Jordan Browning would all but seal the game with 15 seconds left and Sylva Bay would add another free throw to hold on to a 51-48 district road win.

Craig Campbell (Photo right) led Sylva Bay (14-1 & 3-0) with 18 points, Juwan Payton added 10, Thomas Tullos 9, Grant Nygaard 6, Kendrick Abney 5 and Dee Callentine 3.

Jordan Browning led Lamar Christian (16-6 & 3-2) with a game high 30 points, Eric Hines added 6, John Rousse and Zach Johnson had 4 each and Eric Anderson and Samuel Hannabass 2 apiece.

.

Mallory Odom and Marlee Blackwell each scored 18 points to lead seventh ranked Sylva Bay past fourth ranked Lamar Christian 54-48 in Purvis on Tuesday night.

With the win the Lady Saints stand atop District 6-A at 3-0 after handing Lamar Christian their first district loss of the season.

Sylva Bay would grab their first lead of the evening at 6-4 at the 2:15 mark of the opening quarter on an Abby Odom 18 foot jumper and would close out a turnover laden first quarter holding an 11-7 lead.

The Lady Saints would up their lead to 13-7 to open the second quarter on a Marlee Blackwell fast break lay-in off a Lamar Christian turnover but the lead would evaporate and in quick fashion.

Lamar Christian guard Laura Chatham exploded as the freshman canned two 3-pointers, nailed a 17 foot jumper and converted on a fast break bucket in just over a one minute span to cap a 10-0 Lady Lions run to take a 17-13 lead with 5:41 remaining in the half.

Lamar Christian increased their lead to 20-13 when Faith Brooks hit a 3-pointer from the wing off a Sylva Bay turnover and the Lady Lions would take their biggest lead at 27-19 with 1:58 left in the half on an Ashley Hobson basket in the paint but Sylva Bay began finding their rhythm and would close the half on a 6-2 run to narrow the margin to 29-25 at intermission.

Sylva Bay notched the game at 29-29 on two Marlee Blackwell baskets to start the third quarter but while trailing Lamar Christian 34-33 with 3:07 left in the quarter Mallory Odom would sink two free throws to give the Lady Saints a 35-34 lead, one they would not relinquish.

Sylva Bay would take a 39-36 lead into the final eight minutes of play and Mallory Odom’s baseline drive and lay-in at the 4:24 mark of the fourth quarter would give Sylva Bay their biggest lead of the night at 48-40.

Sylva Bay's Mallory Odom (#10) drives for 2 of her 18 points

Lamar Christian pulled to within a basket at the 3:06 mark at 48-46 on a Laura Chatham free throw but Sylva Bay would close out the game on a 6-2 run to up their season mark to 14-6 and 3-0 in district play with a 54-48 road win.

Marlee Blackwell and Mallory Odom each had 18 points to lead Sylva Bay. Anna Claire Odom added 8, Randa Cotten 6, Rebecca Fries, 4 and Abby Odom 2.

Ashley Hobson led Lamar Christian (15-5 & 4-1) with 18 points, Laura Chatham 14, Faith Brooks 8, Bea Craft 4 and Caroline Roe and Rachel Engle 2 each.

Next up for Sylva Bay is another district road matchup, Friday at Christian Collegiate while Lamar Christian will look to rebound in a district meeting at Newton on Thursday.