The McAdams-Leake County boys basketball game figured to be close, with the Bulldogs ranked fourth and the Gators fifth in 1A by the website Scorebook Live. It wasn't.
McAdams led 19-4 after one quarter and 40-19 at the half on its way to a 71-48 victory in the Region 6-1A opener for both teams.
McAdams coach Kenyon Ross said his team was motivated since the top seed for the region tournament will probably go to either the Bulldogs or the Gators.
McAdams had another big first quarter three nights later, outscoring Noxapater 31-11 in an 88-42 victory. But Ross was not completely satisfied.
“We're still playing in spurts. The way we want to play, we have to get in better condition to put together four good quarters.”
The way he wants the Bulldogs to play is uptempo, requiring at least 10 players. With the easy win against Noxapater, he was able to see his entire roster in action. Seventeen players saw action and 13 scored.
“I don't expect them to come off the bench and blow me away with 10 points, 12 points. I need them to come into the game with the same defensive intensity as the first group. Defense first, offense second. If we play good defense, we are going to be okay.”
Tyrick Davis, Cameron Fleming and Jacquese Greer led the Bulldogs in both games. Against Leake County, Davis scored 22 points, Fleming 19 and Greer 16. In the Noxapater game, it was Davis with 27 points, Fleming with 21 and Greer with 11. Fleming totaled 15 rebounds in the two games.
The victories improved McAdams to 2-0 in 6-1A and 11-1 overall, with 10 straight wins. The Bulldogs have only region games the rest of the regular season — return games with Leake County and Noxapater and home-and-home with Ethel, Sebastopol and French Camp. Other than McAdams and Leake County, everyone in the region has a losing record so, on paper at least, the Bulldogs will be favored in every game.
Recordwise, the Bulldogs are ahead of the past two McAdams teams that reached the 1A state semifinals. McAdams was 9-1 in non-region games this season after being under .500 each of the last two years when Ross scheduled strong opposition from larger classifications to prepare his team for region play,
