THARPTOWN - Tharptown’s boys scored nearly double their season average on Monday night, surpassing the century mark in a 101-48 rout of visiting Vina.
The Wildcats (9-8, 6-2 in Class 1A, Area 13) got a layup from junior guard Levi McCormack off the opening tip and didn’t take their foot off the gas until the final possession of the night, blowing past their previous season-high of 74 points in an overtime win at Phillips in late November.
McCormack poured in 14 first-quarter points, helping Tharptown race out to a 34-10 lead. Sophomore guard Britton Kennamore came off the bench to hit three threes in the second quarter as the Wildcats out-scored Vina 25-14 to take a 59-24 lead into the locker room. [Tharptown entered Monday night averaging 52.2 points per game on the season.]
The Wildcats got seven points from sophomore post player Edward Lopez and a three-pointer from senior Skyler Fields in the third quarter, out-scoring Vina 23-13 to open up an 82-37 lead. Kennamore caught fire again in the fourth quarter, drilling four more threes—the last of which bounced around the rim before dropping through with 45 seconds remaining to provide the final margin.
Tharptown finished the night shooting 51 percent (38-for-74) from the field and 75 percent (15-for-20) from the foul line, with 10 three-pointers. The Wildcats also had 12 steals and forced 18 Vina turnovers (13 of which came in the first half), scoring the majority of their points in transition.
Kennamore knocked down seven threes on Monday night and finished 8-for-11 from the field overall, scoring a career-high 24 points. McCormack added 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor and 3-for-3 from the foul line. He also had five steals and hit a three-pointer in the first quarter, extending his streak of consecutive games with at least one made three to 17.
Lopez finished with 14 points and six rebounds, going 4-for-5 from the line. Senior guard Aaron Creasy had nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Freshman Winston Nolen added nine points and five boards off the bench, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor. Junior reserve Carson Petree added eight points and five rebounds.
Reserve big man Ruben Alfaro chipped in with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting and four rebounds. Senior forward Cole Daniel, the team’s leading scorer on the season at 13.9 points per game coming in, finished with six on Monday. Misael Saldana added three points and six rebounds. Fields scored three points, and Les Montgomery added two.
Blake Hardin led Vina with 25 points, and Timothy Newell added 12.
The Red Devils will return to action on Thursday night against Phil Campbell in the four-five game at the Franklin County Tournament at Belgreen. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed due to the forecast of winter weather.
Tharptown, seeded third in the county, will face second-seeded Red Bay (12-7) in a semifinal game on Saturday night at Belgreen High School.
