Leonard -- The Dodd City Hornets won the Trenton Holiday Basketball Tournament last year and the Hornets beat Lone Oak to win the Leonard Holiday Tournament last night, but the tournament they've had their sights set on for years is still over a month away.
Everybody knows the Hornets can shoot the lights out, but how would they react when a tall, physical team has them down? That was the scenario Wednesday night in Leonard when Lone Oark, a perennial powerhouse in football, pushed the Hornets into a 20-11 hole after the first quarter. Dodd City, a Class 1A, Division II school, gave their Class 2A opponent a shooting clinic in the second period. Nathan Roberts nailed four three-point shots and Landon Darwin came through with three treys as Dodd City took control of the game with a 26-7 run and headed to the locker room with a 37-27 lead.
Roberts got the Hornets rolling again early in the second half with a three-pointer, Seth Stephens took an offensive rebound back up for two points and Darwin drove to the hoop for a lay-up. Lone Oak responded with a pair of three-point shots, but Dodd City's Patrick Moore hit a triple and put back an offensive board on the next possession. The Hornets had a 51-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Roberts rained down another trey, Moore sliced through the lane for a lay-up and Jaylen Wallace netted a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 58-40. Wallace had a nice hook shot for a basket, Moore drained a three-pointer and Stephens scored on a left-handed lay-up as the Dodd City Hornets headed home with the championship trophy from the 50th Annual Leonard Holiday Tournament with an impressive 68-49 victory over a talented squad from Lone Oak.
Nathan Roberts led all scorers with 20 points, including six triples. Landon Darwin was close behind with 18 points, with Patrick Moore and Jaylen Wallace both tossing in 10 points.
C. Jones led Lone Oak with 15 points and K. Smith scored 12.
In the girls championship game, the Rains Lady Cats reeled off their third consecutive championship in the Leonard tourney with a 46-40 win over an inspired Leonard Lady Tigers team.
Leonard led their Class 3A opponent 22-12 at halftime. Rains began closing in during the third quarter, however Leonard was still on top, 31-28 going into the final period. An experienced Rains team managed to outscore Leonard 18-9 down the stretch to slip by Leonard, 43-40.
The Celina Lady Cats took third place in the tourney with a win over Sunnyvale.
