Leesville Road boys basketball
Leesville Road forward Quinton Marshall poured in 16 points and 15 rebounds in the Pride's 68-50 victory over South Granville Tuesday at the Chatlee Shootout at Lee County High School.
Marshall's double-double
leads Pride over Vikings
Playing in Lee County High's "Old Gym" — which with its 22-foot ceilings and dusty hardwood looks straight out of "Hoosiers" — the Leesville Road boys basketball team used a good old fashioned 14-0 run to close out the first half and cruise to a convincing 68-50 victory over South Granville Tuesday night.
Coming off a 68-44 loss to Union Pines Monday, the Pride improves its record to 1-1 in the Chatlee Shootout, which is hosted by Lee County. (Leesville returns to action Wednesday, Dec. 30, in the Shootout's fifth-place game slated for 8 p.m.)
Leesville senior Quinton Marshall made sure the Pride rebounded following the team's opening loss, posting 16 points and grabbing 15 boards against the Vikings.
"He had another good night for us," said Leesville head coach Roderic Brewington, alluding to Marshall's strong performance against Union Pines, when he scored 14 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. "We need that from him."
Marshall's recent performance is even more impressive considering he is recovering from a sprained ankle, which held him out of the Pride's biggest win of the season, a 39-38 victory over Wakefield Dec.17.
And the forward was a key player in Leesville's pivotal run to close out the opening half.
Click here for highlights of the Leesville Road/South Granville basketball game.
After falling behind the Vikings 9-4 early in the first quarter, the Pride pulled ahead 17-13 at the end of period and maintained a two-bucket lead through most of the second.
Already on a 5-0 run when Shyheid Petteway added a lay-up with 1:40 remaining in the first half, the Pride tacked on three more baskets in final 90 seconds, including Grayson Hawkins' last-second trey. The buzzer-beating three-pointer gave Pride a 38-22 halftime advantage, and the Vikings never recovered.
Petteway finished with 13 points, Hawkins added nine — all in the first half — and James Lodge and P.J. McQueen had eight apiece.
With Marshall leading the way on the glass, Hawkins and McQueen grabbed seven rebounds each.
Brewington lauded McQueen's performance, explaining the forward's effort is always at a high level.
"He's a hustle guy, an energy guy," the coach said. "He's maybe not the best basketball player, but he works very hard and we got good minutes out of him."
After a humbling 24-point defeat to Union Pines, the Pride and Brewington were happy to get back into the win column.
"It's definitely nice to get that out of our system," the coach explained.
Following its Chatlee Shootout finale Wednesday, the Pride opens the New Year at Sanderson Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m.
Grayson Hawkins (10) slides in for an early bucket in Tuesday's win.
