The Columbus High School boys basketball team used a quick-paced offense and high-pressure defense to prevail Friday night.
The Falcons held off Lawrence County High School 68-46 in the 15th Annual Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Invitational.
Led by a combined 44 points from Deontae Jones, Remadus Beasley and Devin Berry, CHS pulled away in the second quarter and never looked back.
Jones scored 17 points, and Berry added 10 points and nine rebounds. Beasley came off the bench to provide a spark worthy of 14 points and three rebounds.
The Falcons used an early 13-3 run in the first quarter to gain an advantage, but the Cougars from Lawrence County fought back to cut the deficit to six points after the first quarter. But CHS went on an 8-0 run to open the second quarter and the game never was within 10 points the rest of the way.
“We just took what the defense gave us,” CHS head coach Sammy Smith said after the game.
“I thought we played solid defense. We can get better, though. We’ve got to get better because our offense isn’t that great and we’ve got to take what we can get.”
Smith was disappointed in the team’s production from the free throw line. The Falcons went 17 for 33 from the charity stripe, just a little better than 50 percent.
“That’s been our Achilles heel all season,” he said.
The only time the Cougars led was when Carlton Maritn hit a three pointer and they took a 3-2 lead in the first quarter.
Lawrence County forward Brandon Daniels led all scorers with 19 points and added six rebounds. David Haynes pitched in 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.
The Falcons face off today at 6:40 p.m. against Tuscaloosa Central High School inside the CHS gymnasium.
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