Alan Johnston admittedly was dreading this game.
Robert E. Lee’s head coach was matched up against his former school, Chapel Hill, for the first time in the finale of Day 1 of the 15th Annual Tyler Area Basketball Officials Scholarship Classic on Friday.
The Red Raiders entered unbeaten and left the Herrington Patriot Center the same after a workmanlike 52-42 win.
“We did what it took, but we didn’t shoot the ball real well at all,” said Johnston as Lee is now 3-0 on the young season.
“Normally we shoot the ball a lot better; but for the most part we did get the win and it’s good to be 3-0.”
The Classic concludes with six more games on Saturday, beginning with All Saints against Troup at 11:30 a.m. and concluding with Lee versus Lindale at 7:30 p.m.
The Red Raiders made just 18 of 48 field goals on Friday against Chapel Hill, but 14 of 16 free throws helped pick up the slack.
Lee senior Taylor Tankersley led his team with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Caleb Johnston finished with 10 rebounds and three steals to go along with his five points.
Chapel Hill post Michael Harris paced all players with 21 points as the Bulldogs drop to 2-2.
“We missed some free throws early and we didn’t adjust well to their zone defense, especially in the first half,” said Chapel Hill coach Robert Sampson. “I was proud of the guys (for fighting back). We didn’t shoot the ball real well for three quarters and shot it better in the fourth.”
Chapel Hill was ice cold in the first half, making 5 of its 25 shot attempts and going 2 for 6 from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs nearly went eight minutes — between the end of the first period and into the middle of the second — without a point.
But despite that, Lee only led 24-12 at halftime.
“In that (first half) we played good zone and were (forcing) the guys we wanted (to shoot) according to our scouting report,” Johnston said. “But we weren’t finishing and making shots, so it was kind of back-and-forth like a pinball.
“I think some guys definitely improved on their rebounding average (with all of the misses), there is no doubt about that.”
Chapel Hill trailed by double-digits until a 3-pointer from D.J. Sammons pulled the Bulldogs to within eight points, 43-35, with 5:45 remaining.
Baskets by Tankersley and Tucker Boyd, capped by a three-point play from Tankersley helped REL finish out the victory.
Bishop Gorman 63, Bullard 59
The Bishop Gorman Crusaders were without two starters, but Ben Ashworth more than made up the difference.
The senior guard led all players with 36 points to go along with seven rebounds and six steals in a hard-fought win over Bullard. Sean Goforth also had double figures with 16 as Gorman evened its season record at 2-2.
Bullard (1-2) trailed by as many as 12 in the second half, but used a 10-3 run to pull within a basket, 47-44.
Ashworth and Goforth combined to respond with a 7-0 run. When Bullard cut it to four again, the Crusaders made 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to secure their win.
Bullard’s Scott Lowrie scored 16 points with Corbin Howard finishing with 12 points and six rebounds in the Panthers loss.
Marshall 60, Lindale 47
The Mavericks turned up their pressure defense after Lindale and Marshall matched each other in the first period.
The result was Marshall building a lead it held the rest of the way.
Marshall (3-1) made seven 3-pointers in the game with all 12 of Jim Brown’s points coming from beyond the arc. Others scoring double figures for the Mavericks were Corliss White (10) and Vincent Bradley (10).
Trailing 30-23 at halftime, Lindale (1-2) got its deficit down to six points, 35-29, on a basket by Court Brown. Marshall answered with a 14-6 surge to end any more comeback thoughts.
Lindale was led in the loss by Brian Boaz, who scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
15th Annual TABO Classic Schedule
At UT Tyler’s Herrington Patriot Center
Today
Frankston 52, All Saints 49
Laneville 64, Van 56
Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 77, Huntington 61
Brownsboro 48, Whitehouse 47
Marshall 60, Lindale 47
Bishop Gorman 63, Bullard 59
Robert E. Lee 52, Chapel Hill 42
Saturday
All Saints vs. Troup, 11:30 a.m.
Canton vs. Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill, 1 p.m.
Wills Point vs. Pittsburg, 3 p.m.
Bishop Gorman vs. Palestine, 4:30 p.m.
Jacksonville vs. Brownsboro, 6 p.m.
Lindale vs. Robert E. Lee, 7:30 p.m.
TASO Scholarship Classic
Friday’s Box Scores
Frankston 52, All Saints 49
Frankston9171412 — 52
All Saints7171411 — 49
FRANKSTON — Larry Thompson, 14; Ozzie Buckner, 7; Corey Warren, 12; Gage Hart, 10; Kendrick Rogers, 7; Tye Griffin, 2.
ALL SAINTS — Trevor Long, 4; Ruben DeLong, 3; Jaired Maddox, 6; Brice Borgeson, 11; Aston Francis, 10; Luke Lee, 12; Clayton Smith, 3.
THREE POINT GOALS — F: Buckner, Hart; AS: Francis.
Laneville 64, Van 56
Van15131414 — 56
Laneville10192114 — 64
VAN — Brandon Dickerson, 13; Jake Johannsen, 4; Layton Myers, 6; Ridge Crow, 12; Christian Harris, 7; Zane Harrison, 10; Carson Rucker, 2; Caleb Ross, 2.
LANEVILLE — Donatvious Harris, 13; Kendrick Anderson, 9; Tralon Alexander, 18; Anthony Roberts, 6; Ty Johnson, 14; Tiarel Franklin, 4.
THREE POINT GOALS — V: Dickerson, Myers, Crow, Harris. L: Harris, Alexander (2).
Mount Pleasant-Chapel Hill 77, Huntington 61
MP-CH19172417 — 77
Huntington17161414 — 61
MOUNT PLEASANT-CHAPEL HILL — Baron Rogers, 11; Andrew Mercer, 10; Alex Nunn, 29; Dennis Nueber, 6; Caleb Gatlin, 3; Lane Milsap, 13; Justin Robinson, 3; Hunter May, 2.
HUNTINGTON — Joseph Loggins, 1; Logan Nerren, 10; Kyle Wilson, 22; Kywon Cartwright, 8; Hudson Cook, 5; Nick Moore, 8; Devin Horton, 1; Dylan Wallace, 4; Taylor Evans, 4.
THREE POINT GOALS — MPCH: Rogers, Nunn, Milsap. H: Nerren, Wilson (4).
Brownsboro 48, Whitehouse 47
Brownsboro1481016 — 48
Whitehouse1661213 — 47
BROWNSBORO — Davonte Givens, 9; Jared Bragdon, 1; Blake Ralson, 15; Taylor Beall, 9; Patrick McCarthy, 4; Kevin Elder, 4; Will Bailey, 4; Deon Parker, 2.
WHITEHOUSE — Spencer Shaw, 16; Ty Stickley, 11; Kris Kunzman, 7; Brady Hill, 5; Devon Miles, 6; Brennan McDaniel, 2.
THREE POINT GOALS — B: Ralson, Beall (3). W: Stickley, Kunzman, Hill.
SATURDAYS LINE UP — 11:30 a.m. All Saints vs. Troup; 1p.m. Canton vs. Mount Pleasant-Chapel Hill; 3 p.m. Wills Point vs. Pittsburg; 4:30 p.m. Bishop Gorman vs. Palestine; 6 p.m. Jacksonville vs. Brownsboro; 7:30 p.m. Lindale vs. Robert E. Lee.
Marshall 60, Lindale 47
Marshall1713219 — 60
Chapel Hill661416 — 42
MARSHALL — Justin Singleton, 0; Corliss White, 10; Jay McKnight, 0; Jerryme Cole, 1; Chris Brown, 1; Gerad Williams, 2; Chris Williams, 0; T.J. Maxfield, 6; Jim Brown, 12; Teandre Jackson, 9; Chase Stoker, 5; Garren Jernigan, 4; Vincent Bradley, 10; Kris Johnson, 0.
LINDALE — Mason Terry, 8; Dakota Heinaman, 2; Kolton Pierce, 0; Garrett Sir Louis, 4; Connor Lind, 8; Ryan Dudley, 0; Court Brown, 5; Brian Boaz, 18; Jacob Capo, 2.
THREE POINT GOALS — M: White (2), Brown (4), Stoker. L: Brown, Terry.
RECORDS — Marshall 3-1; Lindale 1-2.
Bishop Gorman 63, Bullard 59
Bullard12111917 — 59
Gorman16171416 — 63
BULLARD — Corbin Howard, 12; Chandler Clark, 4; Zach Eschberger, 7; Scott Lowrie, 16; Landen Beckham, 8; Kyler Whatley, 3; Hunter Landrum, 5; Devin Alvey, 4.
LINDALE — Patrick Droder, 6; Mitchell Rainey, 0; Christian Watkins, 2; Sean Goforth, 16; Ben Ashworth, 36; Cole Sharron, 0.
THREE POINT GOALS — B: None. G: Goforth, Ashworth.
RECORDS — Bullard 1-2; Bishop Gorman 2-2.
Robert E. Lee 52, Chapel Hill 42
Robert E. Lee14101414 — 52
Chapel Hill661416 — 42
ROBERT E. LEE — Jack Calhoun, 4; Austin Fleet, 2; Luke Derfus, 4; Darriun Smallwood, 2; Christian Boone, 0; Taylor Tankersley, 20; Jared Williams, 2; Will Dougherty, 5; Caleb Johnston, 5; Tucker Boyd, 2; John Brattlof, 0; Justin DeSalvo, 6. FG: 18-48. FT: 14-16.
CHAPEL HILL — Keilon Moore, 6; Kavondre Wallace, 2; D.D. Humphrey, 3; Michael Harris, 21; D.J. Sammons, 6; Julius Hill, 4; Kevon Kennedy, 0. FG: 18-53. FT: 4-13.
THREE POINT GOALS — REL (2-9): Tankersley, Johnston. CH (2-16): Sammons (2).
RECORDS — Robert E. Lee 3-0; Chapel Hill 2-2.
NEXT UP — Lee vs. Lindale, 7:30 p.m. today at TASO Classic; Waskom at Chapel Hill, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.