Southeast Lauderdale's Denisha Knight goes for the steal against Philadelphia's Cache' Boler on Tuesday night.

    It was just what the coach ordered.

    Heading into a crucial week of games, and coming off the Sam Dale Tournament, the Southeast Lauderdale girls were in need of a break. And with the Tigers holding visiting Philadelphia scoreless for nearly 10 minutes in the first half, they got that breather Tuesday as they hammered the Tornadoes 80-23.

    “It was a good night for us,” Southeast coach Joe Miller said. “We had some tough ones last week, so it was good to have one where everybody got to play.

    “We’ve got some tough ones coming next week, so they’re probably glad to have a night where they could have a little fun and not work so much.”

    It took a little bit for the Tigers to get going, though. Southeast led just 6-4 following a Jerlisa Brown free throw for Philly with 5:21 left in the first quarter. That, though, would be the Tornadoes’ last point until 3:51 remained in the half when Cache’ Boler scored following a Southeast turnover.

    In between the Tigers (15-5, 3-0 in Division 5-3A) rolled off 27 straight points and then tacked on a 9-0 run to end the half, leading 42-6.

    Pashen Thompson led the Southeast barrage in the first half, pouring in 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the half, while Jasmine Bush added eight points and Rachel Adams handed out four assists and had four steals.

    “(Thompson) has had some outstanding games this year and Rachel did a good job of pushing the flow,” Miller said.

    The Tigers continued to pull away despite playing just one starter at all in the second half — Denisha Knight, who finished with 10 points and seven assists. Southeast got a lift after the break from Shantea Hopson in the third quarter — hitting three 3-pointers — and Jordan Gentry in the fourth quarter — 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. In all, 11 Tigers scored as Southeast, which travels to Heidelberg on Friday, tuned up for next week’s home bouts with Choctaw Central and Clarkdale.

    “We had some girls score in double figures that really haven’t played a whole lot,” Miller added. “Gentry had a good quarter and Shantea Hopson had a good quarter in the third.”

    Philadelphia was led by Boler’s eight points.

SE Lauderdale    73

Philadelphia boys    60

    Midway through the second quarter, the Tigers led 30-17. However, then Philadelphia’s Chris Moore started to get hot.

    Moore drained a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the half to go along with a trey at the four-minute mark to pull the Tornadoes within 35-28. Philly would remain close — thanks to two more Moore 3s — throughout the third.

    However, using four steals on the defensive end and a balanced offensive attack, Southeast pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Tigers did not allow a Tornado point until 4:59 remained  in the period — building a 58-46 lead — and didn’t give Philly a field goal until 1:53 remained.

    “We were able to get a couple steals and pull back away,” SEL coach Johnny Patrick said. “I think that gave our guys some confidence and were able to play a little more relaxed.”

    With Philly struggling to score, the Tigers were spreading the wealth on offense. Ledarious Clark led Southeast with 21 points, nine rebounds and six steals, but the junior got plenty of help as Desmond Griggs added 16 points and 12 rebounds, Chris Grant scored 15 and Jeremy Walk chipped in with 12. Point guard Terrion Larkin was the lone starter not in double figures, ending with eight points but handing out eight assists, as well.

    “For the first time this year, we were (balanced),” Patrick said. “If we’d be balanced like that, then we’d have a chance. There’s been some games we’ve been leading and lost in the last minutes because we couldn’t score, we couldn’t find anyone to hit a bucket.

    “All these guys are juniors or sophomores, if they stay out there and keep working hard, I think we’ll be all right.”

    The Tornadoes were led by Moore’s 15 points, while Montreal Jordan scored 13, Jeremiah Horne added 11 and Shunron Cole finished with 10.