Cove hoopsters split with Temple, Ellison

TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Both Copperas Cove basketball teams were shut down by Ellison’s respective defenses in Tuesday night’s District 12-6A contests where the Bulldawgs hosted Ellison in a 79-48 loss while the Lady Dawgs fell 42-26 at the hands of the Lady Eagles at Ellison High School.

It was a rough start for the Bulldawgs at home on Tuesday as the stifling Eagles’ defense held the Bulldawgs scoreless through most of the first quarter until varsity newcomer Jayden Tripplett scored on a pair of free throws with 10. 8 seconds left in the period as part of a 17-2 first quarter.

Three free throws by Ellison senior Javon Walker and another from senior Jayce Wright got the Ellison scoring started before a breakaway dunk and another basket by senior Trendon Stewart and a three from Walker quickly put the Eagles up 11-0. Free throws by sophomore Jeremiah Jones and Wright, along with another Wright basket, closed out the Eagles’ first quarter scoring.

Cove junior Maurice Henry then added a point from the free throw line before another trey by Walker and another breakaway dunk by Stewart opened a 22-3 advantage for Ellison.

A basket by Cove junior Sean Anderson and a pair of free throws by Cove sophomore Warren Fleming slowed the Eagles’ run but baskets by Stewart, senior Dante’ Tutein, sophomore Jamyron Keller and another Walker trey made it a 31-8 contest.

A trip to the charity stripe by Cove senior A’lonnie Carter again stalled the Eagles’ run briefly until a three-point play the traditional way and a finger roll by Walker and a three from beyond the arc by sophomore Khris Wilkerson helped the Eagles grow their lead to 26, 40-14.

Baskets by junior Dequan Seda and Carter made it a 40-16 score before a three by Wilkerson, a pair of baskets by Keller and a steal for a dunk by Stewart helped the Eagles’ push their lead to 29, 49-20, at the halftime break. 

A pair of baskets by Cove’s Henry closed out the Dawgs’ scoring.

The Bulldawgs opened the third quarter with free throws by Henry and a basket by Seda, but a free throw by sophomore Kesean Garland, a basket by Wright and one by Keller pushed the the lead to 30 before treys by Walker and Keller gave the Eagles their a 36-point lead, 60-24.

Three trips to the charity stripe by Anderson resulted in five made free throws, but a basket by senior Deondra Thomas and two more by Keller gave the Eagles a 66-29 lead at the end of three.

Cove freshman Bryce Smith connected on one of just two Cove three pointers to open the fourth quarter before Ellison senior Isaiah Washington answered with a three and a basket, followed by successful trips to the charity stripe by senior Kaleb Bennett and Wilkerson for the Eagles largest lead of the game at 43, 75-32.

Baskets by Henry, Carter and Seda helped Cove narrow the lead to 79-38 before a three-pointer by Carter and a steal for a dunk by Seda made it a 79-43 game.

A free throw by Cove’s Carter and two by Smith, along with a basket by Tyrese Carter, closed out the scoring for a 79-48 final.

Walker led the Eagles with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds while Keller ad 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Stewart added 10 points and two steals followed by Wilkerson with 10 points and Washington with seven.

Henry led the Bulldawgs with 11 points and seven rebounds followed by A’lonnie Carter with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals; Seda (8 pts, 4 rebs), Anderson (7 pts, assist), and Smith (5 points).

Cove earned a 60-54 win over the Tem-Cats on Friday with the senior Carter leading the way with Seda following with 11. 

The Bulldawgs return to action at 7 p.m. tonight on the road at Belton as they look to avenge their first-round loss to the Tigers.

Lady Dawgs’ win-streak
halted by Lady Eagles

The Lady Dawgs earned their second-consecutive district win with a 52-45 road win over the Tem-Cats on Friday.

After trailing 16-13 at the half, the Lady Dawgs outscored the Tem-Cats 16-8 in the third quarter to take a 29-24 lead into the final frame. 

Both teams exploded in the final quarter with the Lady Dawgs nearly doubling their first-half scoring with 23 points to Temple’s 21 for the 52-45 final.

Senior AZ Knotts led the way with 15 points, 5 rebs, two blocks, two assists and 3 steals followed by junior Kyra Gaston (16 pts, 8 rebs, assist, steal, block); senior Jasmine Sankey (13 pts, 9 rebs, 2 stls, block); senior Alaura Gallups (3 pts & 2 rebs); senior Micah Anderson (3 pts, asst); sophomore Khia Horton (2 pts, 3 rebs, asst); and sophomore Ta’Shayla Marrie (2 rebs, 3 assts).

The Lady Dawgs again hit the road on Tuesday to face the Lady Eagles where they shot just 15 percent from the field in a 42-26 contest.

The Lady Eagles held the Lady Dawgs to just 12 first-half points while doubling that offensive output.

The Lady Dawgs held Ellison to just 18 points in the second half, but they were only able to add 13 points of their own in the 42-26 loss.

Gallups led with 7 points, a rebound and steal followed by Ta’Shayla Marrie (6 pts, 3 rebs, stl, assist); Kyra Gaston (4 points, 7 rebs, steal); junior Danielle McGriff (3 points, reb); Anderson (3 pts, 2 stls, reb); Sankey (2 pts, 8 rebs, 3 stls); and Jade Chapman (1 pt, reb)

The Lady Dawgs will look to rebound with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Belton tonight at Bulldawg Gymnasium.