[MENDENHALL, MS] The Muddy River Counselors went down to Mendenhall and came back with a blowout win against the up and coming Mt. Zion Lions 69-35.
The Counselors hit the floor to play a 16U game for the first time since their 63-42 defeat on Championship Saturday. Their opponents, the Mt. Zion Lions finished last season as the #8 seed but return with the same team but with players improved.
Muddy River wasn’t having any of it though. The Counselors began on a 7-0 run before taking a shot from the Lions, who cut the lead to 7-6. After that, the Counselors exploded. Sun Michael Williams hit his first four three pointers, all in the first quarter. Luke Sanders had 10 first quarter points as well to push them to a 30-13 lead at the end of the first period.
The second period was more of the same. This time, Caleb Sanders stole the show. He scored 15 of his 17 first half points in the second quarter. The Counselors outpaced the Lions 27-9 in the second period to build a 57-22 halfttime lead. The 57 first half points set a record for the most points in any half in Counselors history.
With a running clock the entire second half, the Counselors cruised to victory. Mt. Zion’s stars, Nathan Green and Landon Hollingsworth, were kept at bay, scooring 10 and 7 points respectively as the Counselors disrupted the Lions’ offense.
Williams finished with 20 points, Caleb Sanders finished with 17 points, and Luke Sanders finished with 14 points.
The Muddy River Counselors will host the defending 16U champion PCA Paladins on Saturday at 10:30 AM. Game will be streamed live on the TSJW Network YouTube.
