Sparta Youth Basketball Returns With High-Scoring Weekend

After winter weather kept them off the hardwood for the past two weeks, Sparta Youth Basketball teams were back on the courts this weekend. In an attempt to stay – at least close – to on schedule for season finale tournaments, most teams played twice with some having Saturday doubleheaders and others heading back to the gym on Sunday for another turn at the hoops.

The Rookie League teams took to the courts early. Christpoint got all of their offense from Lily Ballew as she was the only one able to find the basket Saturday morning. Jaxon Trisdale put up a good fight on defense as he hustled from one end of the court to another, but it just wasn’t enough as Christpoint fell to Armstrong by a score of 16-3.

Luka Qualls was a scoring machine as he dropped all eight of Aphena Pharma Solutions points through the net on the way to a win over Spartan Services. Cannon Farms put just four points on the scoreboard – three by Aikman Templeton and another one by Salese Winfree – but it was enough to take the win over Rice, and Victory Lawn Care was led to another win, 14-2 over The Wacky Lemon, by Clay Delaney who hustled on both ends of the court.

Center Hill Sports Marina took an 11-6 win over Griffith, Rocky Pop Co came out ahead of Hitchcock by a score of 12-1, and Taylor held on for a 9-6 win over Boyer.

In Training League Girls action, Delaney Logging took an 11-7 win thanks to Stevie Morris who was pulling down rebounds and putting up points like a machine. American Roofing Co fell to Sonic, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. Quinn Rojas was hustling as she stole the ball, drove the length of the court, and taking shots. The only other game in this division saw Whitetail Property take a big 22-2 win over Page.

In the Training League Boys action, it was Collins over Rawly Mae Farms despite Will Norvell’s defense that included taking the ball from Collins’ players several times. Edd Rogers got two wins: a 20-15 victory over Brasel in the morning and then took a 17-8 win from Sonic in their second game of the day. Weldon posted a 24-6 win over Johnson while Smith put 36 points up on Brasel, who could only manage 4 and then put up seven in their second game of the afternoon, still falling – this time to Spartan Services – 20-7. Smith came back to the courts, and their offense was a little quieter in their second game. They still squeaked out the win, edging Hitchcock 15-14 to close out the day.

The Training League Boys teams headed back to the gyms on Sunday with Hitchcock picking up a 14-10 win over Sonic and Weldon getting a 10-8 victory over Collins. Spartan Services got a second win on the weekend, putting up 19 points on Johnson while Sonic fell for the third time in two days, losing 8-11 to Collins.

There was plenty of action in the Junior Leagues with the girls had six teams score more than 30 points each over the weekend. Southern Roots Salon fell to Smith by a score of 17-36, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from the entire team led by Avery Hale and Aliyah Young’s blocking. Anna Elrod dropped 19 points and Zora Savage found the basket for the first time this season as Poss defeated Napa Auto Parts, who was led by Olivia Gimbert in both scoring and rebounds, by a score of 44-15. First Class Auto took a 14-7 win over American Roofing Company on Saturday, and Tru North dropped 46 points through the hoop on their way to a 46-5 win over K&J Electric. Despite the big margin on the scoreboard, K&J’s Cate Bain and Gwendolyn Hernandez never quit trying to make the contest close. Poss took the courts one more time on Saturday with Anna Elrod pouring in another 13 points and Stormi Flatt adding 11 as they edged out Southern Roots 30-25 to stay undefeated.

On Sunday, American Roofing came back with a 20-15 win over K&J Electric thanks to 11 points from Lakeland and 9 from Jesslynn. True North put 45 big points on the board as Hadley Sims netted 21 and Rozanne Daniel added 14 more. The final game of the weekend in the Junior Girls League saw Smith put a massive 68 points on the board is they bested Napa Auto Parts.

Over on the Junior Boys Courts the points were flowing. It was Walker with a 48-38 win over Flatt, Hitchcock with a 35-24 win over Murphy, and then Smith put 50 on the scoreboard as they handed Hitchcock a 50-24 loss. Not to be out done, Meeks went ahead and put 60 points up in their win over Murphy, and then Smith responded with 71 points in a win over Johnson. Things calmed down a little in the later games with Collins edging out Meeks 37-26 while Johnson redeemed themselves with a 40-7 win over Young. Benton Keith put up 12 points for American Roofing Company, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 28-39 to Bechtal, and then Walker took a 33-15 win over Johnson to close out the day.

The boys were back on the court Sunday as Keith led American Roofing Company on the books with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals, and a trio of blocks. Once again, however, it was not quite enough as Meeks took another win, this time 38-22, home.

There were just two games in Senior Girls action with both being decided by just two points. American Roofing Company edged out Roberts while Absolute Care got the win over Rodgers Farms.

On the boys’ courts, Hart edged out Flatt by a score of 57-56 while American Roofing Company took a huge 54-26 win over Angell, and Smith came out on top of Collins 48-37. Gooch played two games on Saturday with Braxton Hutson scoring a combined 52 points between them. Gooch dropped the first one by a score of 34-46 to Weldon and then coming back for a 62-23 win over Sliger in their second game. On Sunday, Hart rounded out the Senior Boys action with a 49-25 win over Angell.

Here’s a look at how the leagues are shaping up with just one week of regular season left to play. All teams will be on the courts Saturday, February 14 as they vie for post season seeding.