Vincent surges back to defeat Shelby County

Published 9:46 am Monday, December 18, 2023

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

COLUMBIANA – The Vincent Yellow Jackets overcame a slow start to come from behind and earn a big win over a Class 5A opponent on the road, defeating the Shelby County Wildcats 69-58 on Friday, Dec. 15.

Shelby County opened up the game strong in the first quarter, scoring 13 points, including eight from Ryan Sipes, and holding Vincent to just three points during that time.

The Wildcats took a 10-point lead into the second quarter, and they built on that advantage even more in the next eight minutes.

Shelby County added 19 in the second period as six different Wildcats found the bottom of the net, including Sipes, who scored five more points to take him into double-figures in the first half.

They outscored Vincent by seven during the quarter and took a commanding 32-15 lead into the halftime locker room.

However, the Jackets were far from out of the game and were just a few minutes away from flipping the matchup on its head.

Vincent stormed out of the halftime locker room and dropped 31 in the third quarter. After scoring six in the second quarter, Skylar McCrimon erupted for 17 points by himself in the third, and Taye Robertson chipped in eight points in an impressive quarter as well.

At the other end of the floor, the Jackets defense held Shelby County to just 10 points in the third quarter to erase the lead completely and take a four-point lead into the fourth.

The offensive onslaught continued from Vincent with 23 more points in the final period. Shelby County fought back thanks to four Sipes three-pointers to stay in the game.

The Jackets withstood that pressure with 10 more points from McCrimon, five from Phoenix Maxwell and an emphatic dunk from Camari Keller to cap off the scoring, giving the traveling Vincent fans another chance to celebrate as they went home with the 11-point victory.

McCrimon led the Jackets with 33 points, Maxwell scored 13 points and Robertson added 11 points to reach double-figures. In addition, Keller and Landin Hardy had five points each.

For the Wildcats, Sipes scored a team-high 30 points, including eight three-pointers.