By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Munford Cougar forward Kylon Hall slams down two points against Millington last Friday night.
The rematch between the Millington Trojans and Munford Cougars lived up to a traditional battle between the two rivals. Back in November, the Cougars traveled down Highway 51 and left the William Osteen Gymnasium with a 73-57 victory. Usually an M&M Showdown goes down to the final seconds. In round two Friday night in the Munford Gymnasium, the Millington Trojans had a chance to tie the game trailing by 3 points with 3.5 seconds remaining on the clock. Trojans Head Coach Rob Sabau drew up a play for a long range shot. But the ball missed its target and Munford was an owner of a 46-43 win. In the first match up the Cougars dominated in the post with Kylon Hall and Andrea’ Bell. Although the duo had their moments in the rematch, it took a team effort from Cougar Head Coach Butch Hopkins club to pull out the victory. Munford held a 9-8 lead after one quarter despite a solid start from Trojan Roddarius Pitts. The senior guard drained a three-pointer and made a layup in the lane. The second quarter was also a back and forth battle between the two teams with Munford getting points from Juane Tolton, David Hunter and Bell. Meanwhile Trojans like Pitts, Devynn Brandon and Jordan Browning kept pace with the Cougars. Munford held a 23-21 advantage at halftime after Tolton drained a three-pointer. Both squads scored 13 points in the third quarter with Browning hitting two lone three-pointers for Millington. When Brandon drove to the rim and hit a layup the Trojans were ahead 34-31. But the Cougars scored the last five points of the quarter with Titus Mathews hitting a bucket and Reggie Holmes making a steal leading to a three-point play. Munford was ahead 36-34 heading into the fourth quarter. In the final period Trojan guard Julian Daughtry scored 7 points including a triple to help give Millington a 41-40 lead. Then Holmes regained the advantage for Munford with a three-pointer. Pitts tied the game at 43-43 with a layup. Munford would win this game from the free throw line. Although the Cougars struggled all night from the line, Tolton and Hall made 3 of 4 foul shots to give Munford a 46-43 lead.
Millington had one more change to tie but couldn’t make the basket.
