McKenzie boys shoot way to District 13-A title game

MCKENZIE — McKenzie senior Brandon Baucum has told head coach John Wilkins all season that he can dunk the ball in a game.

On Friday, Baucum proved that he could, and he did it twice as the Rebels pulled away from Dresden for a 67-37 victory in the District 13-A semifinals at the Crisp Arena.

"Making baskets definitely makes the offense work better," McKenzie coach John Wilkins said. "It feeds our energy.
"We had a lot of guys contribute tonight."

McKenzie (18-10) advances to play Huntingdon in the District 13-A championship on Monday at 7:30 p.m., while Dresden (15-9) will play West Carroll in the consolation game.

Baucum scored a game-high 18 points, while Preston Henderson added 15 and Bryce Wiggins finished with 12.

"We kept looking to get the ball inside and score," Baucum said. "We did a good job knocking down the 3-pointers also, and Dresden struggled to stop us."

The Rebels shot the ball well throughout the game, and that is what allowed them to pull away in the second half.

McKenzie was 23-of-47 from the field for 50 percent, but more impressive was the 55 percent shooting in the second half.

Henderson got hot from 3-point range, going 5-of-7, to help McKenzie open a lead, while Baucum attacked the basket to keep the Dresden defense guessing.

McKenzie was hot from the start too, as the Rebels jumped out to a 14-4 lead after one quarter.

The Lions did try to cut into the lead in the second half, and they had the McKenzie lead down to nine at halftime.

But McKenzie came out shooting in the second half for the 30-point win.

"When you hold Dresser Winn to seven points and hold them to three offensive rebounds, I like our chances," Wilkins said. "They had 17 offensive rebounds on us the first time, so that is something that we have been working on. We have to continue that on Monday because Huntingdon is a good rebounding team."

Quincey McDonald led Dresden with 12 points.

Huntingdon 66,

West Carroll 52

The Mustangs (17-7) won each of the four quarters to slow pull away from West Carroll and pick up a third win on the season over the War Eagles.

Huntingdon had four players score in double figures led by Keeton Bailey with 23 points. Jeremiah Pearson added 15, while Tyrese Mebane had 11 and Davion Phillips finished with 10.

The Mustangs shot 50 percent in the second half to keep extending the lead.

West Carroll (13-16) was led by freshman Jeremiah Bryant with 16 points, while Jack Johnson finished with 13 and Zach Heckert had 12.

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.