ISS comes up short against Montevallo

Published 11:50 pm Tuesday, December 17, 2013

By TREY HICKMAN/For the Reporter

MONTEVALLO — Bobby Anderson came up big for host Montevallo as the Bulldogs downed Class 3A Area 8 rival Indian Springs in double overtime 73-68.

Anderson had a top-notch night overall with a team-high 19 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, and he shined when it mattered most, pumping in seven of those points in the second overtime to help Montevallo (5-6, 1-2 in Class 3A Area 8) grab the victory.

With 15.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Indian Springs’ Mack Krell buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 54. Montevallo then had a chance to ice the victory, yet failed to get a shot off. Indian Springs’ Kenechi Ijemere tallied four of his game-high 24 points in the first overtime as the visitors played Montevallo to a tie, forcing a final set.

That’s when Anderson put an exclamation point on his performance, helping put the Bulldogs over the top for the team’s third straight win.

“The effort is always there with us,” said Montevallo head coach Greg Dickinson. “That’s the one thing about us. We’re always going to have effort. That’s one thing I love about the guys but it’s learning how to win and close the game at the end is what we’re trying to learn. They haven’t learned yet how to close the game and stop making the mental mistakes. So that’s what we did tonight. We finally learned how to close the game at the end and that’s what I’m proud of them about.”

In addition to Anderson’s output, Tae’ Smith totaled 13 points, three assists and three steals while Undreaz Lilly added 13 points and four assists for Montevallo. Meko Brown posted 12 points and four rebounds, A.J. Green had eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and Antwain Cunningham collected six points and three assists in the winning cause.

For Indian Springs, Kenechi Ijemere led the way with 24 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Richie Yu with nine points, two assists and seven rebounds. Mack Krell contributed 15 points and Weiyang Xiong registered 10 points and five rebounds as Indian Springs fell to 7-4 overall and 1-3 in Class 3A Area 8.