BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
After a two-game winning streak, the Union County High School boys basketball team has now lost two in a row, with the most recent loss coming by a score of 51-49 to Interlachen on Dec. 18 in Interlachen.
Gavin Jenkins was the Tigers’ leading scorer with 18 points. Johnte Nichols also reached double figures with 15 points.
Cam Paytee had a team-high six rebounds.
The Tigers (3-4) opened the season with a 66-54 loss at Class 4A Keystone Heights on Dec. 1. They held a one-point lead before being outscored 24-11 in the fourth quarter.
Jenkins and Paytee scored 20 and 16 points, respectively. Union also got eight points from Brien Griffin, seven from Jayden Jenkins and three from Thomas Williams.
Union traveled to Baldwin on Dec. 5, defeating the Class 3A Indians 67-34. Gavin Jenkins had 15 points and five steals, while Williams had 12 points, five rebounds and five steals.
Griffin and Paytee scored eight and seven points, respectively, while three players had five points: Deonte Jones, Eric Lasseter and Jeppson Dang.
Jayden Jenkins added four points, while Isaiah Folaji and R.J. Odom scored two each.
Griffin led the team in rebounds with six, while also coming up with three steals.
Paytee had five steals, while Jones and Odom each had three. Odom also had three assists.
The Tigers lost 53-31 at Class 1A Chiefland on Dec. 7. Gavin Jenkins and Dang led the Tigers with 12 and nine points, respectively. Dang also had a team-high five steals, while Jayden Jenkins led the team in rebounds with six.
Gavin Jenkins had a double-double as the Tigers bounced back with a 68-58 win at Class 1A Branford on Dec. 12.
Jenkins had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while also coming up with three steals.
Williams led the team in scoring with 21 points, while also adding four steals and three assists.
Nichols, who had seven assists, just missed double figures in scoring with nine points.
Jones grabbed six rebounds.
The Tigers got 21 points each from Williams and Gavin Jenkins in a 58-55 win over Class 5A Baker County on Dec. 15 in Glen St. Mary.
Jenkins also had six rebounds, five steals and four blocks, while Williams had five assists and five steals.
Jones and Paytee scored five points each. Jones also had four blocks, while Paytee added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Nichols scored four points, while Jayden Jenkins added two.
On Dec. 16, Union played its first game against a District 6-1A opponent, losing to host Fort White 63-33.
Gavin Jenkins scored nine points and had six rebounds, while Williams had seven points and eight rebounds. Nichols and Jones scored six and five points, respectively, with Jayden Jenkins Lasseter and Paytee each adding two points.
Jayden Jenkins led the team in rebounds with nine.
The Tigers host Dixie County on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. and will host Keystone on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
