Hamilton Heights’ Lady Hawks defeated Arlington’s Lady Tigers, 66-24, Saturday night in the Robertson Sporting Goods Classic in New Albany, Mississippi, as Elizabeth Balogun scored 19 points and dished out five assists.
The boys’ team, playing at home, had no trouble in demolishing the Dawson Christian Lions, 115-51, as Kevaughn Ellis and Jason Jitoboh each scored 21 points.
The girls’ game was never in doubt. The Lady Hawks (19-2) led 32-15 at halftime and outscored the Lady Tigers, 34-9, in the second half.
Jazmine Massengill, Kamilla Cardosa and Treasure Hunt each scored 11 points. Cardosa grabbed eight rebounds and Esmery Martinez had seven. Massengill and Balogun each had five assists.
The Lady Hawks are off until Feb. 6 when they travel to Greenville, South Carolina, to face Legacy Charter, which they beat on Friday night. They then turn their focus to postseason tournament play, starting with the NACA national tournament in Dayton, Tennessee.
Hamilton Heights’ boys shot 19 percent on 3-point attempts and 5-for-15 from the free-throw line in a two-point loss against Legacy Charter the night before.
The Hawks made 50 percent from 3-point distance and went 13 for 18 at the charity stripe while producing a season-high 115 points in the 64-point win over the Dawsonville, Georgia-based Lions.
The 6-foot-11 Jitoboh scored 13 of his 21 points – he also had 12 rebounds – in the first quarter to trigger the offensive blowout. Ellis scored 11 points in the opening period when the Hawks built a 31-10 lead.
Seven-foot-1 Uros Plasvic had 17 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Rawls, Keon Ambrose and Tre Edwards each scored 12 points. Wheza Panzo and Thomasi Gilgeous-Alexander each handed out nine assists.
The Hawks (16-5) were up 63-25 at halftime.
Boxscores
Girls Game
Hamilton Heights 16 16 17 17 – 66
Arlington 7 8 3 6 – 24
Hamilton Heights (66) – Jazmine Massengill 11, Elizabeth Balogun 19, R. Balogun 2, Treasure Hunt 11, Rodrigues 2, P. Martinez 3, Kamilla Cardosa 11, E. Martinez 5, Manzano 2.
Arlington (24) – Stewart 3, Lattimore 6, Nichols 3, Williams 2, Bates, Ca. Taylor 3, Glandberry 5, Ch. Taylor, Borders 2.
3-Point Goals – Hamilton Heights 3 (Massengill 1, Hunt 1, P. Martinez 1), Arlington 5 (Lattimore 3, Ca. Taylor 1, Glandberry 1).
Boys Game
Dawson Christian 10 15 12 14 – 51
Hamilton Heights 31 32 32 18 – 115
Dawson Christian (51) – Eli Burruss 16, Kamara 4, Davis 8, Lewis, Bryant 4, Cantrel, Kilgore 1, Luke Chism 18.
Hamilton Heights (115) – Kevaughn Ellis 21, Farrar 2, Jordan Rawls 12, Panzo 6, Tre Edwards 12, Gilgeous-Alexander 4, Keon Ambrose 12, Ruzhentsev 8, Ahtuai, LeGuenne, Jason Jitoboh 21, Uros Plasvic 17.
3-Point Goals – Dawson Christian 3 (Davis 2, Chism 1), Hamilton Heights 6 (Ellis 3, Rawls 2, Ambrose 1).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)