GRANITE CITY – Tavaris Macklin scored 23 points and Farleigh Ward added 10 as visiting Carbondale defeated Granite City 55-42 in the Warriors’ final game before the holidays on Friday night at Granite’s Memorial Gym.
The Terriers used a 9-0 run in the final part of the second quarter to take a 21-13 halftime lead and didn’t look back in taking their record to 10-2 on the season.
“We were out of sync, we didn’t play very well, I’ll tell you what, we really missed Zidane Moore, who did not play (due to injury),” said Granite City head coach Gerard Moore. “Zidane is our primary ball handler, and our leader out there. So, it’s like an adjustment period of not playing with him. We had forced other guys to different things, like handle the ball and make decisions, which is hard for high school kids. I just have to do a better job, put other guys in that role, so we can be successful.”
Zindane Moore’s absence did hurt the Warriors greatly.
“Yeah, it did, it did,” Moore said. “He does such a good job of getting everybody involved, making guys accountable, because he is our leader. And most of all, he’s our leading scorer; he makes big shots for us, and guys feed off of it. So when you’re shorthanded, it’s kind of hard, but I’ll tell you what, Carbondale came to play. They were better than us tonight, they beat us to every loose ball, they were a little more disciplined than us on offense.”
The Warriors jumped out to an early lead, as Jerry Watson scored the first basket and Devontay Mason hit an early three to give Granite at 5-3 lead. Mason later hit another three to extend the lead to 8-4, after which baskets from Macklin and Jakeba Burleigh tied the game at 8-8. A free throw from Watson gave Granite a 9-8 lead at the end of the period.
The two teams started the second quarter by exchanging the lead four times, with Jahkeis Tippett tipping in a rebound to make it 11-10, and Freddy Edwards hitting a shot to make it 13-12. The Terriers then went on a 9-0 run for the remainder of the quarter as Ward and Macklin hit on baskets, Ward hit on a three-point play and Burleigh scored underneath as Carbondale took a 21-13 lead at halftime.
Carbondale extended its lead to 10 at the start of the second half as Davaris Macklin connected on a basket and Clayton Greer hit on another three-point play to make it 26-16. Granite cut it to five on a Keyon White basket and a three from Mason, but a Greer free throw and a basket underneath from Thomas Anderson extended the Terrier edge back to 29-21. An Anderson three-point play made it 32-23, and Carbondale outscored the Warriors 5-2 the rest of the period to make it 37-25 after three.
The Warriors cut the lead to 37-30 at the start of the fourth on a basket from White and a three from Edwards, but a Greer basket put the lead back to 39-30. After a Warrior free throw, the teams traded baskets before the Terriers started to pull away, mainly from the free throw line, hitting nine of 14 down the stretch and outscoring the Warriors 16-11 to take the 55-42 win.
Mason led the Warriors with 11 points, while Edwards scored eight and Watson six for Granite.
The Warriors, now 6-3 on the season, will begin play in the Prairie Farms Collinsville Holiday Classic late Thursday night, opening against Belleville East in the final game of the opening day, with a 9:30 p.m. tip. The Warriors’ former rival in the Southwestern Conference will provide Granite with a very good test.
“You know the Southwestern Conference, they’re definitely not Carbondale; they might be a whole lot better,” Moore said. “We just have to be ready to play. Hopefully, Zidane’s able to go, and he’s 100 percent. If not, we’ve got to be ready to play without him.”
Moore hopes that the Warriors will compete very well in the tournament, and also hopes for a good showing for the team.
“Well, you know, my hope is to go in here and compete,” Moore said. “I would like to win the first game, or come out of there with at least a 2-2 record. If we can do that, I feel like we can be successful. I don’t expect to win all four games, but I’d like to split.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
