Lebanon Church League basketball results
Mar. 13—Results from last Saturday's Lebanon Church League basketball games played at First Baptist Church Lebanon's Family Life Center:
First Baptist Watertown 59, Connect Church 25
First Baptist Watertown built an early lead thanks to its pressuring 2-3 defense. The top of the zone pestered Connect's ball handlers and provided little space to operate. It also led to several fastbreak opportunities. Youth Minister Seth Price knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 17 points. Big man John L. Kneisel scored 16 from down low.
Connect was led by point guard Jairen Coles' nine points.
The Journey 63, St. Frances Cabrini 52
The Journey continued its hot shooting from the week before with 10 made 3-pointers in the first half. Despite this offensive barrage, St. Frances only trailed by 14 points at halftime and made a late push in the second half to cut the lead to single digits with five minutes to play before The Journey held the ball and knocked down its free throws to seal the win. The Journey's Ethan Fields led all scorers with 26 points.
St. Frances had a very balanced attack with point guard Josiah Smith leading the way with 11 points while forward Chad Marriott and post Zach Santana each tossed in 10.
Mt. Juliet Church of God 60, Providence UMC 53
Providence dominated most of the first half as post Austin Brown scored all 13 of his points before halftime.
Mt. Juliet came out after halftime with a more determined approach on defense and pushed the pace on offense. Guard Jaylan Clemmons was the beneficiary of many of the fastbreaks with a game-high 27 points. MJ also hit 20 of 27 free throws.
Shooting guard Christian Bell led Providence with 18 points.
Pickett Rucker UMC 65, Maple Hill Church of Christ 46
A short-handed Maple Hill team hung around the defending league champions during the first half, trailing by only five at halftime. The pace continued for most of the second half until Pickett Rucker's depth and quickness eventually took its toll.
Shooting guard Kadarian Garnett led Pickett Rucker with 22 points while Phillip Vance paced Maple Hill with 12.
Bethlehem Church of Christ 68, Crossroads Fellowship 34
These two congregations are separated by a half mile at the Tuckers Crossroads two-way stop. Bethlehem won this first-ever cross-community meeting by stretching out its 2-3 zone to apply ball pressure at the half-court line.
Shooting guard Joe Braydon Roberts scored a game-high 24 points, many on fast breaks, for Bethlehem.
Shooting guard Taylor Thaxton led Crossroads Fellowship with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Generation Changers 70, Cornerstone Baptist (Carthage) 55
Generation Changers jumped out to an early lead behind guards Kendall Williams and Donelson campus pastor Blake Belford.
Cornerstone had an even more balanced attack with four players scoring between 11-15 points apiece. But Cornerstone trailed by 10-15 points throughout as it played Game Changers evenly after the first few minutes, but couldn't cut into the margin.
Williams tossed in 21 points while Belford and Tazz Marbury each scored 17 for Generation Changers.
Big man Hudson Yuresko led Cornerstone with 15 points.
This Saturday's games
* 1 p.m. Pickett Rucker vs. Bethlehem
* 2 p.m. MJ Church of God vs. Cornerstone
* 3 p.m. Maple Hill vs. The Journey
* 4 p.m. St. Frances vs. Providnece
* 5 p.m. Generation Changers vs. Connect Church
* 6 p.m. Crossroads Fellowship vs. First Baptist Watertown
Standings
The Journey 4-0
Generation Changers 3-1
St. Frances 2-2
Providence 2-2
Connect Church 2-2
Cornerstone Baptist Carthage 2-2
Bethlehem Church of Christ 2-2
First Baptist Watertown 2-2
MJ Church of God 2-2
Pickett Rucker 2-2
Maple Hill Church of Christ 1-3
Crossroads Fellowship 0-4
