BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Three players scored in double figures, with Gavin Jenkins pouring in a game-high 19 points as the Union County High School boys basketball team began play in 2025 with a 73-46 win over host Keystone Heights on Jan. 3.
The Tigers outscored the Indians 18-2 in the second quarter en route to ending a two-game losing streak.
Early baskets by Ty Mitzel and Michael Petty, who had a three-pointer, gave Keystone an early 5-2 lead.
A three-pointer by R.J. Odom sparked a 9-0 Union run, giving the Tigers a lead they’d never relinquish. Jenkins went to the foul line after a Keystone turnover, making 1 of 2 free throws. Jamie “Bubba” McGhee rebounded the miss and scored to put Union up 8-5. Then, after McGhee grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, Jenkins made a three-point shot for a six-point Tigers lead.
Baskets by Petty and Cooper Barry, as well as two free throws by Brody Stevens, helped the Indians make it a three-point game. Union then got a free throw from Jenkins before Odom, off his own steal, spun away from a defender and scored on a layup that sent the Tigers into the second quarter leading 17-11.
The second quarter was all Union. Odom knocked down a three-point shot, followed by a free throw from Tyrese Chandler. The Tigers then took advantage of four turnovers, with the first two leading to baskets by Isaiah Folaji. Jenkins drained a three-pointer, while Adrian Manns scored off an offensive rebound, putting Union ahead 30-11.
Jenkins, who had 14 first-half points, connected again from beyond the arc for a 22-point Union lead.
Keystone finally scored points on a drive to the basket by Petty, but a Manns basket off an Odom assist (and another Indians turnover) sent the Tigers into halftime leading 35-13.
The Tigers had runs of 8-1 and 7-2 in the third quarter and held a 27-point lead at one point.
Jenkins and Jashun Green each scored five points in the third quarter, which ended with Union leading 52-28.
Petty and Dereon Tochterman combined to score all but one of Keystone’s 15 third-quarter points, with Petty making two three-pointers.
Chandler had a big fourth quarter for the Tigers with 10 points, while Keystone’s Brayden Wester, set up by three assists from Petty and one from Tochterman, scored eight points on layups.
The Tigers’ Jenkins led all scorers with 19 points. Union also got 13 points from Chandler, 12 from Odom, eight from Green, six each from Folaji and Manns, five from Jacques McKenzy and two each from McGhee and Erick Lasseter.
Petty led Keystone with 15 points, while Tochterman had 14. The Indians also got eight points from Wester, three from Barry and two each from Stevens and Jamari Turner.
Union traveled to play Branford on Jan. 4, winning 60-55 in overtime to improve to 5-2 on the season. The Tigers played Dixie County this past Tuesday and will host Branford on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
The Indians (2-8) played North Marion this past Tuesday and will host Palatka on Friday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Keystone then travels to play Ridgeview on Monday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m.
Keystone and Union play each other again on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m. in Lake Butler.
