5 keys to Blackman's basketball sweep over Siegel

Blackman's basketball teams swept a District 7-AAA pair at home against Siegel Tuesday evening.

The Lady Blaze (3-10, 1-2) won their first District 7-AAA game of the season, holding off a stubborn Siegel team to capture a 43-36 win.

Blackman’s boys (13-2, 3-0), ranked third in the state in Class AAA, remained undefeated in the district with a 67-52 victory over Siegel.

Here are five keys to Blackman's victories.

Siegel girls battle through first half

The Lady Stars (2-14, 1-3) led for most of the first quarter and were only down 23-19 at the half. Siegel had a 25-24 third-quarter lead before Blackman outscored Siegel 7-0 to end the quarter and take a 31-25 lead it never lost.

Siegel knocked down six 3-point baskets and the Lady Stars’ strong zone defense caused problems throughout the game for Blackman’s post players.

Return of Bond

Jaida Bond, whose family lived in Murfreesboro but moved to Tampa, Fla., but returned to Murfreesboro in December, played for the first time this season for Blackman and made a big contribution.

She had seven second-half points, five of them from the free throw line, to help Blackman pull away.

“She hasn’t been back but for about a week,” said Blackman coach Jessica Jackson. “She’s familiar with our system, it’s just getting her back into the system. She hit some big free throws late in the game.”

Bond’s sister Jazz was a huge part of Blackman’s state championship titles in 2014 and 2015. She is currently playing at the University of South Florida.

Blaze dominate second quarter

Siegel’s boys were able to hang with Blackman for one quarter, when the Blaze had a 17-14 lead. But Blackman took control in the second quarter, outscoring Siegel 18-7.

Blackman increased its lead to 16 early in the third quarter, 39-23, but the Stars battled back to cut the gap to seven at the end of the quarter, 46-39.

Blackman outscored Siegel 21-13 in the final quarter.

Post play strong for Blaze

Bryce Williams and Brandon Thomas couldn’t be stopped in the paint for the Blaze. Williams had 16 to lead the Blaze. Thomas had 10 in the paint.

“They’re a lot bigger than we are,” said first-year Siegel coach Dyron Birdwell, whose team fell to 6-9, 1-3. “We’ve got to do a better job of keeping them out of the paint.”

Franklin shines for Siegel

James Franklin kept his team in the game in the first quarter, with eight of the Stars' 14 points. He had 22 points overall to lead all scorers, and helped the Stars cut Blackman’s 16-point third-quarter lead down to seven.