VALDOSTA —
Valdosta's basketball teams earned two dominant victories over Camden County on Friday night at the VHS gymnasium.
The Wildcats hammered Camden 74-38, while the Lady Wildcats beat Camden 58-39.
Valdosta’s girls are now 13-1 this season, while the boys are 10-4. Both Valdosta teams improved to 3-0 in Region 1-6A.
Valdosta goes on the road to face Brunswick today. The girls’ game begins at 5 p.m., with the boys game to follow afterwards. The Pirates are 8-3, while the Lady Pirates enter the game 11-4.
Valdosta boys 74, Camden County 38
Valdosta outscored Camden 20-3, 25-14 and 22-10 in the first three quarters, and led by as many as 40 points in Friday’s game.
“We got a win,” Valdosta head coach Antonio Haynes said. “A win is always sweet. (But) we’ve still got a long way to go.”
It didn’t take long for the Valdosta boys team to firmly take control of Friday’s game. Valdosta scored 20 points in the first quarter, and its defense held Camden to only three points.
“We applied a lot of pressure to start off,” Haynes said. “Our best offense is our defense — getting steals, getting out on the fast break, playing pressure defense, denying the pass.”
Valdosta led 20-3 after the first quarter, then continued to build on its lead in the second quarter. VHS headed to the locker room at halftime with a 28-point lead, 45-17.
With Valdosta holding a big lead, Haynes decided to work on some things with his team.
“When we got up comfortable enough, I went into my coaching mode and started working on some things that I think we’ll need later on in the season,” Haynes said. “It didn’t go well, so we scratched it and went back to applying pressure. When you get a lead like that, it’s best to start working on things that you may need in the future.”
Valdosta continued to dominate in the second half. At the end of the third quarter, VHS held a 40-point lead, 67-27.
Because Valdosta was leading by more than 30 points after three quarters, the fourth quarter was shortened to six minutes. Haynes played his reserves in the final period.
Rashad Lewis led Valdosta with 17 points. Clarence Smith scored 16 points. Colin Kirkpatrick scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Eleven different players scored for VHS.
Valdosta girls 58, Camden 39
Like the VHS boys’ team, the Valdosta girls dominated the first quarter, built a big lead and won convincingly over Camden on Friday night.
“We did a great job tonight,” Valdosta head coach E.A. Wilcox said. “We won. We’re 3-0 in the region. We feel good about ourselves. We’re on a nice little run right now.”
Valdosta came out using a full-court press, like it often does. The strategy worked, leading to turnovers and points in transition and helped VHS build a 10-point lead in the first quarter.
“We used our diamond press, and (built) a nice, comfortable lead,” Wilcox said.
VHS led 19-9 after one quarter. Valdosta’s Stormm Phillips scored as many points (nine) as the entire Camden team in the first quarter.
Valdosta continued to play tough defense in the second quarter, when it held Camden to just three points. Valdosta headed to the locker room with a 28-12 halftime lead.
A 7-0 run midway through the third quarter helped Valdosta extend its lead to 20 points, 45-25, heading into the final period.
Valdosta let its reserves play most of the fourth quarter. VHS led by as many as 25 points (58-33), on its way to earning a 19-point win.
Phillips led Valdosta with 16 points. Destiny Covert grabbed 10 rebounds.
“Stormm played well, and a lot of girls around her played good,” Wilcox said.
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Related Photos
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Valdosta guard Jerahn Thomas tosses in a layup early in the first period against Camden County Friday night. Brandon Powers
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Valdosta High guard Stormm Phillips goes up for a shot in the third period against Camden County. Brandon Powers
Discussion
Valdosta dominates Camden
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