DEKALB — Kemper County High School lost its first game since last season, as the Wildcats dropped a 57-45 contest to West Point High School Thursday night.

The Wildcats were without starting point guard Gus Nave, who was not available because of strep throat. 

The loss puts the Wildcats at 3-1 on the season.

“I hate to worry about it too much — these boys are just getting into the gym three or four days, and missing our starting point guard, Gus Nave, was also a problem,” Wildcats head coach John Alan Darnell said. “But there are no excuses. West Point was clearly the better team tonight. They came out, punched us in the mouth, and we never recovered. They’re a very good team.”

West Point jumped out to a 9-2 first-quarter lead, but Kemper County jostled its way back into the contest and took a 10-9 lead after a field goal by Tim McElroy with 3:43 remaining in the first period. McElroy and center John Dale combined to score 10 of the Wildcats’ 14 points they carried to a 14-13 first-quarter lead.

 West Point opened the second half with an 8-0 run behind the shooting of Austin Crowley, who punctuated his third basket of the quarter with an alley-op to put the Green Wave ahead 21-14. West Point pushed its scoring run to 14-0 before Ty Glaspie hit one of two free throws for Kemper County with 2:12 left in the second quarter to make the score 27-15. Glaspie scored five more points in the quarter, and Dale banked a 3-pointer from far behind the arch with two seconds left in the period to trim West Point’s lead to four, as the Green Wave led 29-25 at halftime. 

Dale and Glaspie scored all 11 of Kemper County’s second-quarter points.

Kemper County’s Malik Jones, who didn’t score in the game’s first two quarters, dueled Crowley in the third quarter. Jones gave Kemper County six of its 10 points in the period, while Crowley exploded for 10 points. Dale and McElroy also hit field goals, making the score 45-35 in West Point’s favor to end the period.

West Point’s MacArthur Chandler went 4-for-4 from the field in the fourth quarter to contribute to a 12-point Green Wave fourth quarter, and Dale and Jones scored four points apiece, while Rod Williams Jr. added a basket for the Wildcats in the fourth.

“We didn’t show up to play, and we got our butts handed to us,” Darnell said. “I hope it teaches us that we just can’t show up and win. That was the first game we lost since February, so, we’re not used to this feeling. We have to bounce back. We have a good game (Friday) night at West Lownes, and we better bounce back quickly. Hopefully, we learn some humility, and learn that we’re not invincible.”

Dale led Kemper County in scoring with 15 points, and Jones also finished in double digits with 10. McElroy and Glaspie ended the evening with 8 points apiece.  

Crowley scored a West Point team-high 25 points.

WEST POINT 67,

KEMPER COUNTY GIRLS 43

With Lady Wildcats’ 2015 leading scoring Kiandrea Cherry nursing a sprained ankle, teammate Precious Chamberlin filled in admirably, as Chamberlin scored 19 points against West Point.

Chamberlin’s high-scoring effort wasn’t enough to pull the Lady Wildcats to victory, as West Point defeated Kemper County 67-43 Thursday evening.

“It hurts us to not have (Cherry),” Lady Wildcats head coach Jennie Vance said. “She’s a leader, and she’s a good player. But I was really proud of Precious, and how she stepped up. And Mercedez Jackson, I think Mercedez really stepped up, too. We gave up too many points in the first quarter. When you give up 25 points in the first quarter, it’s hard to come back.” 

Kemper County (2-3) fell into a 4-0 deficit before Chamberlin put the Lady Wildcats on the board with a field goal with 6:03 in the first quarter. After scoring the game’s first points just 15 seconds into the contest, West Point’s Aamiya Rush paced her team in scoring in the period with eight points, three of them coming on a 3-pointer she connected on with 1:46 left in the first quarter. Chamberlin scored the Lady Wildcats’ first three baskets to lead Kemper County’s scoring in the period with six points, as West Point took a 25-12 lead into the second quarter.

“We had good ball movement,” Chamberlin said. “They threw me the ball in the paint, and I scored because I wanted to win.”

After tallying four points in the first period, Jackson scored on two consecutive possessions and hit two free throws in the second quarter to score seven points in the period, a team high. Chamberlin also added five points to put the score at 35-24 at halftime.

Chamberlin contributed six of the Lady Wildcats’ 11 points in the third period, while Jackson chipped in with four. Tiaris Johnigan added two points for Kemper County as West Point led 46-35 at the end of three. Chamberlin chipped in with four points in the fourth, but an 11-point effort from West Point in the period was insurmountable, as the Lady Green Wave earned the 67-43 victory.

Jackson tallied 15 points in the contest.