Game Report on Smith at Southwest Guilford Boys Basketball:Ben L. Smith takes this one and it was a Good One

The Cowboys hosted the Eagles of Smith High School in conference action tonight here at the ranch. Those in attendance were in for a great battle.

Catch Smith vs Southwest Guilford Radio Replay With Kris Walser and Coach Marlon White on GreensboroSport Radio Stream 2.

The opening frame was a back and forth physical affair. The longer Eagles from Smith would get around the Cowboys and score, but the speed of Southwest would turn it right back around and respond. The largest margin in the first quarter was with 59 seconds to go with the Eagles up 24-18. Southwest used a quick 5-0 spurt to close the frame to close it out at 24-23.

After an opening scoring possession by Smith, the Cowboys had another quick 4-0 spurt to reclaim the lead at 27-26, but it was short lived as the Eagles came down and responded with one of their many 3 point baskets to take the 29-27 lead back. Bad decisions and poor shooting allowed the Eagles to execute and convert points. Every time Southwest would seem to be finding a rhythm, a foul, turnover, or bad possession would staunch their flow. The choppiness of the half really made it difficult on both sides, however the Eagles managed it just a little better as the opening half closed with Smith up 52-48.

The second half was still chippy and physical, but Southwest was more aggressive out of the gate and went on an 8-2 rally to reclaim the lead at 56-54 with 6:30 to go. Smith responded well and got their largest margin on the night at 69-60. Once again the tide turned in favor of Southwest as they came storming back to cut it to 71-69 with under a minute to play. But the Eagles closed the frame out strong with a 4-0 spurt of their own that closed the third frame at 75-69.

The final stanza was back and forth. The Eagles seemed to have the game in hand, but the Cowboys would fight back as the teams traded streaks. With 2:10 to go Southwest had managed to get it to 85-83, but once again another huge three pointer got the lead back up for Smith to make it 88-83.

On the ensuing possession the Cowboys came down and it appeared had earned an old fashion 3 point play, but the officials called an offensive foul negating the basket. Southwest was able to recover on the next defensive possession by forcing a turnover and converting a bucket to make it 88-85 with just 1:15 to go. Smith made 2 free throws, but the Cowboys got a 3 point play of their own which made it 90-88 with 48 seconds to play. The Eagles went 1-2 from the charity stripe and made it 91-88.

Southwest came down and was fouled in transition, and also only managed 1-2 from the line which cut it to 91-89 with 30 seconds to go. On the ensuing possession the Eagles were forced into a turnover. The Cowboys advanced the ball quickly and called a time out with 22.6 seconds to play. Out of the timeout the Cowboys ran an offensive set and got a shot off that was off the mark but a critical offensive put back gave Southwest the lead at 92-91 with under 11 seconds to play.

After a timeout, Smith ran the ball up the court, after narrowly avoiding turning the ball over twice, Smith was able to draw a foul. The Eagles hit both free throws with only 4.4 seconds to play to take the 93-92 lead.

The Cowboys inbounded the ball and got off a well executed transition set, but the shot rattled out and the Eagles held on for the win.

Smith was led by Isaiah Bigelow with 27 points. Southwest was led by Jayden Turner with 30 points, 10 Rebounds, and 2 Assists. Also reaching double figures were; JT Butler (21, 4 Asts, 2 Rebs, 2 Stls), Christian Martin (16, 7 Rebs, 2 Stls, 2 Asts), and Joel Pettiford (16, 3 Rebs, 2 Asts, Blk, Stl).

The Cowboys play at home again tomorrow night against rival Ragsdale High School.

               1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Smith          24  28  23  18  93
Southwest      23  25  21  23  92

Smith (8-1, 2-0)
Cameron Hayes 11
Jordan WIlliams 4
Jacob Crutchfield 18
Isaiah Bigelow 27
Silas Mason 23
Jaylin Gamble 2
Jaylan Gainey 7

Southwest (5-2, 1-1)
Milli Huggins 5, 3 Rebs, 2 Asts, 2 Stls
JT Butler 21
Christian Martin 16
Jayden Turner 30
Ty Radford 1, 4 Asts, 3 Stls, Reb
Cooper Cunningham 3, Reb, Stl, Ast
Joel Pettiford 16

Courtesy of Greg Vlazny, Southwest Guilford assistant basketball coach