WILLIAMS LEADS ELKS IN 72-53 WIN OVER TIGERS

By Kevin Phillips

ELKTON–After giving up

10 straight points midway through the first quarter to fall behind Rising Sun by four points, Elkton called a timeout to regain their composure. The Golden Elks responded by scoring 24 of the next 28 points to take a double-digit lead, and their lead did not fall below 10 points the rest of the way to earn a 72-53 victory over the visiting Tigers in UCBAC boys’ basketball action Friday night.

“We sometimes lack on defense, and when the timeout came, we told each other we had to pick it up and get steals and scores,”

Elkton’s Zyan Williams said.

DJ Piner started the surge with a field goal while Jaden Nichols followed that up with 5 straight points to give the Golden Elks the lead for good at 13-10, and by the end of the first quarter Elkton had an 18-12 lead.

The Golden Elks con- tinued their surge well into the second quarter as they scored 12 of the first 14 points in the frame en route to building a 30-14 lead, and Elkton head coach Charles Givens Sr., said the surge was a result of having the right combination of players in the game.

“I guess they were playing great depending on who was playing in the game. When we had the right combination of people in the game, it was never a problem,” Givens, Sr., said. “What you see in the game is what you would see in practice. The same thing we do here is what we do everything. We try to have the team run up and down the floor as fast as you can and play defense.”

After the surge, the game settled into a rhythm where the Golden Elks would get their lead up to the low 20s with Rising Sun responding with a mini-surge to cut their deficit down to the low teens, and that would be the trend for the remainder of the game as Elkton held on to the victory.

Williams shined in his first action in three weeks as he scored a team-high 15 points, and he was happy to get back on the court to help his team.

“It was nice. It’s been three weeks, and I was excited to get back on the court,” Williams said. “I came back and showed how I can help the team, trying to get all of the rebounds and make sure the team goes far.”

Kyle Jackson and Obote Briscoe each chipped in eight points for the Golden Elks. The Tigers got 15 points from Patrick Rosenberger, 14 from Brandon Cech, 11 from Tyler Stoudt, and 10 from Wyatt McDowell.