BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Union County High School outscored visiting Baker County 6-2 in the final minute, but it wasn’t enough for the Tigers to overtake the Wildcats in a 64-60 loss in a boys basketball game on Jan. 15.
It was the Tigers’ third loss in four games, with two coming against schools in larger classifications.
The Tigers (8-4) fell behind 9-3, but closed the gap to one point, getting a basket from Adrian Manns off a Jaylen Pierre assist, a free throw from Pierre and basket off a jump shot by Jackson Andersen-Davis.
It was 13-10 when Baker (18-1) scored six of the eight final points of the first quarter. The Wildcats’ Dalton Lynch scored off a turnover that gave Baker a nine-point lead. Union’s Garrison Smith scored off a floater in the lane to send the Tigers into the second quarter trailing 19-12.
Union put together a 14-0 run in the second quarter to take a six-point lead. An Andersen-Davis basket was followed by an R.J. Odom three-pointer — his third of the half. An Odom steal led to an Andersen-Davis basket off a Smith assist. Manns scored off an offensive rebound and was fouled on the play. He made the awarded free-throw attempt to make it a 26-24 game in favor of the Tigers.
Manns followed up his three-point play with a blocked shot on the defensive end. He and Tyrese Chandler then had consecutive baskets to give the Tigers a 30-24 lead.
Baker answered with six straight points, but Chandler scored with 30 seconds remaining to give Union a 32-30 lead going into halftime.
It was a rough start to the second half for Union, which missed its first 10 field-goal attempts, but the Wildcats were able to build only a two-point lead. Manns blocked three of Baker’s first six field-goal attempts, including one from beyond the three-point arc.
Smith scored on a baseline drive, while Andersen-Davis scored off a Chandler assist to give Union a 36-34 lead. The Wildcats then went on a 14-3 run. Union went 1 of 5 from the field and committed five turnovers during that span. Baker’s Lynch scored seven points off three of those turnovers. His basket off a Robert Chick steal put the Wildcats up 50-39.
Pierre was able to score on a drive to the basket and draw a foul. He made the ensuing free-throw attempt to send the Tigers into the fourth quarter trailing by eight.
A three-pointer by Rhett Rhoden and a basket by Jocoby Blake off a Chick steal helped the Wildcats built an 11-point lead early in the final quarter. Baker later went up by 12 when a blocked shot by Joel Carver led to a transition basket by Lynch.
A Pierre three-pointer brought the Tigers’ deficit to single digits. Montrell Woods then scored off a baseline drive to make it 57-50 with 3:46 to play. After a Manns blocked shot on the defensive end, Union got two free throws from Woods to pull to within five points.
Baker’s Jamarion Goodman scored on a drive to the basket, drawing a foul in the process and making a free throw to put the Wildcats ahead 60-52.
It was 62-54 when Pierre scored off his own steal with 57 seconds remaining. The Tigers then forced a tie ball, with the possession arrow favoring Union. Woods rebounded his own miss and put it back in the basket to leave the Tigers trailing 62-58 with 32 seconds left.
After the Wildcats’ Brady Jacobs made two free throws with 29 seconds on the clock, Woods scored off another rebound to make it 64-60. The Tigers then forced a backcourt turnover. That led to a Smith three-point attempt, which would have made it a one-point game, but the shot rimmed out with less than five seconds remaining.
Woods, who had eight points in the fourth quarter, finished with a team-high 12, while Odom and Pierre had 11 and 10, respectively. Union also got nine points from Mann, eight from Andersen-Davis, six from Smith and four from Chandler.
Union entered the game off a 58-50 win at Hilliard on Jan. 13. Chandler and Smith scored 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Andersen-Davis and Odom each had eight points. The Tigers also got five points from Woods, three from Manns and two from Pierre.
Andersen-Davis and Manns each grabbed seven rebounds, with Manns also blocking three shots. Chandler had six rebounds.
Odom and Pierre led the team in assists with five each.
The Tigers, who played Clay on Jan. 17, will host Trenton on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. and Lafayette on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m. The junior varsity team will play prior to each game at 6 p.m.
Union travels to play P.K. Yonge on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 5 p.m., following a JV game at 3:30 p.m.
On Monday, Jan. 26, Union plays a triple-header at Dixie County. The JV boys will play at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity girls at 6 p.m. and the varsity boys at 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers play at Suwannee on Tuesday, Jan. 27, with the JV team playing at 6 p.m. and the varsity team playing at 7:30 p.m.
