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Hornet turnovers led to first district home loss since 2017

Colton Foster cfoster@itemonline.com, The Huntsville Item, Texas
·2 min read

Jan. 22—HUNTSVILLE — Huntsville boys' basketball had a strong start to Friday night's game, but after taking a 12-9 lead out of the first quarter, Jacksonville was able to overcome.

The Indians were able to fight their way to a 72-52 win over the Hornets, giving Huntsville their first home district loss since 2017.

"I just thought that we had to play a few more to be in it," Huntsville head coach Jay Oliphant said. "I thought we had entirely too many turnovers to start the second quarter and it just continued. You can't beat a good team when you commit that many turnovers."

Turnovers were a major key in Jacksonville's victory. After the Hornets opened the game with their run, Jacksonville switched into a press and forced a plethora of turnovers, which turned into points on the other end.

As much as the Hornets tried to move the ball around, with the Indians interfering with any and every passing lane available, it was just too much for Huntsville.

"They pressed us and they figured out some things that we don't have the personnel to handle too well and they started pressing and getting turnovers.It gave them some momentum and we could never get it back," Oliphant noted.

With all the fast break points coming from Jacksonville, things began to get heated between both squads. After a jump ball call and Hornet senior James Ringo getting tossed to the ground, senior Kevin Harrison picked up his second technical foul, ruling him out of the game. He finished with 10 points for the Hornets and was a key factor in their quick start.

"With him being a senior, I thought it was a little out of the norm," Oliphant said. "To me, it was a selfish deal and as I told him at halftime, he needed to keep his composure."

Jacksonville's sophomore guard Karmelo Clayborne was a big reason for the quick turnaround. After a three-point first quarter, he finished the game with 37, creating the massive separation.

Scoring for the Hornets was led by senior AJ Wilson, who had 20 points for the Hornets, but with only Harrison and Elijah Clemons grabbing double-figure points in the game, the Hornets could not overcome.

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The Hornets will now hit the road for a Tuesday game against Tyler, before coming home to play Lufkin on Friday.

"We are going to have to buckle down," Oliphant added. "We have quite a few guys that we won't have on Tuesday, Harrison included, since he was ejected. We will have to put something together to try and muster up something to be competitive."