ARMOREL— The Armorel Tigers failed to win their last regular season home game on Senior Night, Thursday, as they lost to the Hayti Indians 76-63. The Indians led 41-35 at the half. AHS was never able to spark a second-half comeback victory like the night before against 1A/2A blended conference opponent the Cross County Thunderbirds.
The Tigers leading scorer was senior guard Brock Elliott with 18 points, two rebounds, two steals and two assists. Classmates Matt Wyatt and Monroe Car were also in double figures with 14 points (Wyatt) and 10 points (Carr). Wyatt added seven points, four assists and three rebounds. Carr also contributed five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
“A lot of them have matured a lot the last couple years that I’ve been here… As far as the seniors themselves, we got a pretty good group…We've got some good kids. This bunch has got a chance, I think, to conquer a great deal. Having districts and regionals here has to be a plus for us. If we can get things taken care of and do right I like our chances,” said Tigers head coach Gary Burnside. “ Brock’s [Elliott] a super kid. You never hear anything out of him. Super kid. Good work habits and has really, really improved since last year…All four of the seniors [Monroe Carr, Brock Elliott, Matt Wyatt and Weston Hollingsead] that start to contribute a lot and will sadly be missed. Monroe’s a heck of an athlete. Heck of a kid. Great kid. Great person. If I had another son I was going to bring up I’d want it to be someone like that.”
The Armorel Lady Tigers were victorious as they defeated the Lady Indians 49-37 after a stellar performance from junior Ayreille Appleton who exploded with a double-double.
Appleton, who had been struggling the last few games, ended the night with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds.
AHS sophomore guard Briley Miller chipped in nine points and nine assists. Lady Tigers sophomore guard Abby Kennedy added six points and nine rebounds. Sierra Elliott added three points and came down with nine rebounds.
“Definitely a team win. First of all, it starts on the defensive end. I thought our defense gave [Hayti] some trouble. They have a very quick guard, that can get to the rim and it was great team defense that was able to keep her away from the rim…I told the girls time and time again that our defense is what keeps us in the games. We’re not great offensively and we know that, and we’re working on it. But we know our success depends on how well we can keep the other team from scoring and if we can keep the other team from scoring we have a chance to win,” said Lady Tigers head coach Shannon Miller. “Ayrielle [Appleton] had a good night. We had talked about how sluggish her last two performances were and she answered the bell. She got out there and made her presence known and that’s exactly what she needs to do.”
The Lady Tigers were without seniors Macie Collard and Rachel McKuin on Senior Night at AHS due to injury but senior McKinley Carr scored two points.
“We had three seniors. Macie [Collard] has been injured most of the year. Rachel [McKuin] has been out for the last four weeks, and she’s going to be out at least another couple weeks and may not be back at all; we don’t know yet. Then McKinley [Carr] was able to be on the court last night,” said Miller. “But you’re talking about three intelligent girls, that do well in the classroom. Rachel and McKinley have been a basketball player all the way up, even though the elementary years, all the way through. They’ve been able to battle through adversity and they’ve been mentally tough and physical toughness. And that is going to help them in the long run. McKinley played on sprained ankles last year for most of the year… Then Rachel lost her father last year and they faced a lot of adversity and last year was a tough year. We had a lot of losses but they didn’t quit, they kept on going. They came back this year and we are having a better year this year and I’m thankful for that. I think all the adversity that we’ve faced is going to help them not only with basketball but also with their post-high school careers when they go to college and eventually get jobs. They’re going to succeed. They really are.”