Lamar School jumped out to 17-5 advantage after the first quarter as it raced past Central Academy 64-23 in the Lamar/Rush Christmas Bash Tournament Monday.

The Raiders (7-6) led 41-11 after two periods and by as many as 45 in the second half.

“I challenged them to play better defensively,” Lamar coach Charles Shaffer said. “And I think that’s what set up our offense was how well we played on defense.”

Ten separate Lamar players saw action in the blowout win, with nine players contributing in the scoring column.

“I’m real happy with our depth, and I think we can wear teams down,” Shaffer said. “I just think that’s something that we’ve been trying to do for a long time, and we’ve got it.”

Brett Boland and DJ McGrew led the Raiders with 14 points apiece.

“We played good team defense, and we ran really well in transition, and that showed up in on how many points we scored,” Boland said. “It’s really important to get the first win (in a tournament), and that gets us into the winner’s bracket, and we need to win to ultimately win the championship.”

Meanwhile, Clay Truelove chipped in with nine points, and Parker Dixon had seven.

“It’s great to be able to throw the ball around,” Boland said. “To run down the floor, play in transition and everybody scoring, that’s the best part about it.”

Lamar will play Newton County Academy at 8:30 p.m. today in a winner’s bracket matchup.

“Once again, we have to defend,” Shaffer said. “We’re not going to outscore people, but we can defend. That’s one of the strengths of our team, and that’s what we have to continue doing.”   

LAMAR GIRLS 25, CENTRAL ACA. 24

Four players in the scoring column was all the Lamar girls needed as they edged Central Academy Monday in the Lamar tournament.

The Lady Raiders’ leading scorer was Karli Cruise with nine points, followed by Leah Thompson with eight points. Ambreah Waters tallied six points, and AnDria Kenney got two points.

Lamar will play Wilcox Academy at 7 p.m. today.

RCA BOYS 73, CLARKDALE 62

Russell Christian Academy’s Xavier Heidelberg and Clarkdale High School’s Jerome Adkins both scored 35 points each, but in the end, it was the Warriors who came out on top Monday in the Lamar tournament.

Jeremiah Hall tallied 13 points for RCA, and Tavis Brown chipped in with 12 points. For the Bulldogs, Ken Scott had nine points.

RCA (9-2) and will play at 5:30 p.m. today against Sylva Bay Academy, while Clarkdale will play at 2 p.m. versus Wilcox Academy.

CLARKDALE 58, RCA GIRLS 29

Tori Emerson led Clarkdale in scoring with 15 points as the Lady Bulldogs pulled away against RCA Monday in the Lamar tournament.

LaTonya Adams and Jade Harrison both finished with 10 points for Clarkdale. RCA’s only double-digit scorer was Olivia Faulkner, who scored 16 points.

Clarkdale will play at 4 p.m. today against Sylva Bay Academy, while RCA will play Newton County Academy at 1 p.m.

NCA BOYS 45, WILCOX ACA. 36

Bailey McDill led the Newton County Academy boys with 16 points as the Generals edged Wilcox Academy Monday in the Lamar tournament.

Braden Smith scored 14 points for NCA, and Hunter Terrell added 10 to round out NCA’s double-digit scorers.

The Generals will play at 8:30 p.m. today versus Lamar.

WILCOX ACA. 49, NCA GIRLS 8

Wilcox Academy rolled past the Newton County Academy girls Monday in the Lamar tournament.

Anna Laurel Moody scored three points for NCA, and Karlie Blackledge and Kelli Hollingsworth added two points apiece. Baleigh Ellis scored the Lady Generals’ final point.

NCA will play at 1 p.m. today against RCA.