Dyer County squads blow past Brighton

After splitting a set of rivalry matchups with Dyersburg on Tuesday, Dyer County returned to its district schedule on Friday, when the Newbern squads traveled to Brighton.

The Lady Choctaws played great on the defensive side of the floor on Friday, allowing Dyer County to improve to 3-1 in district play with a 67-50 victory over the Lady Cardinals.

The Choctaws put together a solid team effort in the nightcap, defeating Brighton 104-83 behind 21 points from big man Cedric Janes.

"We knew they were going to be tough on their home court," said Dyer County head coach Derek McCord. "Cedric continues to beast in the paint for us, and we did a much better job on the glass tonight."

In the Lady Choctaws win over Brighton, Dyer County forced the Lady Cardinals to turn the ball over repeatedly over the course of the game, which translated into easy transition baskets for the Newbern squad.

The Lady Choctaws trailed 11-3 midway through the first quarter, but a strong 11-0 run to finish the frame gave Dyer County a 14-11 advantage going into the second quarter.

Dyer County held Brighton to just eight points in the second quarter, as the Lady Choctaws went into the halftime break with a 25-19 lead.

The Lady Choctaws continued their defensive clinic in the second half, holding the Lady Cardinals to just five points in the frame, as Dyer County went into the final frame with a 47-24 lead.

McCord pulled his starters with six minutes left in the game, but the damage was already done, as the Lady Choctaws improved to 3-1 in district play.

"I was really pleased with our girls tonight because they bounced back after a tough loss to Dyersburg on Tuesday," said McCord. "Tonight we did a better job staying out of foul trouble, and it allowed us to keep our starters on the court."

Lady Choctaws Brittany Cranford and Latorya Robertson led the team in scoring with 14 points, while Kassie Cowart chipped in with 13 and Holly Gibbons added 12 points in the win.

In the nightcap, the Choctaws had their hands full with an athletic Brighton squad that was not intimidated at all by Dyer County's reputation.

The Choctaws led by as many as nine in the first quarter of play, but the streaky Cardinals ended the frame on an 8-2 run, which cut Dyer County's lead to 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Koty Gross, Cedric Janes and John Hudson all got into foul trouble early on, which sidelined the three starters for the majority of the second quarter.

With three key Choctaws on the bench, Brighton battled back and eventually took a slight 37-35 lead with three minutes left in the second quarter.

The Choctaws responded with a 3-pointer by Tay Kennedy and a thunderous dunk by freshman Robert Hubbs, which sent Dyer County into the locker room with a 46-42 lead.

The two respected squads continued to battle it out in the second half with neither squad backing down from one another.

The Choctaws caught fire from deep in the third quarter, especially Hudson who knocked down 3-deep shots in the frame, as Dyer County went into the fourth quarter with a 76-68 advantage.

Dyer County started the fourth on a 12-2 run, which pushed their lead to 88-70 with under five minutes left in the game.

The pesky Cardinals never quit, and eventually cut Dyer County's lead to single digits, but 18 combined points from Janes and Hubbs was too much for Brighton to overcome as they fell short in the final frame.

"Brighton is a lot like us, they have a lot of young athletes," said McCord. "We did much better defensively tonight, and that resulted in easy transition baskets for us."

Hudson was second on the team scoring with 17 points, while teammates Fred Yarbourgh and Hubbs both chipped in with 16 apiece.

Point guard Cedarius Taylor continues to be a deciding factor in the Choctaws' offensive scheme, adding 11 points in the win.

Dyer County will have a week off to prepare for their second matchup with Jackson North Side next Friday night, in a huge game that could decide the seeding for both the girls and boys squads in the upcoming district tournament.

"It's going to be a huge game, so we need all of our fans there," said McCord.