By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
They entered the Bank of Brewton Christmas Tournament with the best record and the No. 1 ranking in Class 1A.
Yet it took a three-pointer by Willie Nettles with 1.8 seconds left to rescue J.F. Shields to a 54-51 win over the Mobile Christian Leopards in Thursday's opening round.
Mobile Christian (9-6) led most of the game and held a six-point advantage with four minutes left. The Leopards then went to a delay mode on offense only to turn the ball over three times. J.F. Shields (12-1) took advantage of those turnovers to tie the game and set up Nettles' winning shot.
Nettles led the victorious Panthers with 15 points, while Jeffery Finklea added 10. Mobile Christian received a team-best 15 points from Lakeith Gwinn.
J.F. Shields vs. Mobile Christian
J.F. Shields 14 13 16 11 - 54
Mobile Christ. 11 19 15 6 - 51
J.F. SHIELDS (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Nettles 4-2-1-15; J. Finklea 5-0-0-10; D. Finklea 4-0-1-9; Dortch 2-1-0-7; S. Finklea 2-0-1-5; Brown 0-1-0-3; Austin 0-1-0-3; Williamson 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 18-5-3-54)
MOBILE CHRISTIAN (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Gwinn 4-0-7-15; Edgar 5-1-0-13; Christian 3-0-0-6; Lai 2-0-1-5; Figures 1-1-0-5; McDonald 2-0-0-4; Zambrano 0-1-0-3 (Totals: 17-3-8-51)
Monroe Co. 73, Flomaton 56
Flomaton may have entered the tournament with the second best record, but it was the Monroe County Tigers who cruised to a 73-56 first-round win.
The Hurricanes (8-3) led 10-8 after a quarter, but Monroe County (7-4) took control of the game over the next two quarters. Monroe County outscored Flomaton 25-13 in the second quarter to take a 33-23 halftime lead. The Tigers extended that advantage to 55-31 through three quarters with a 22-8 run in that frame.
Grant White led four Monroe County players in double digits with 18 points, while Jamyl Stanton and Charlie Hybart both had 12. Jomantae Poindexter added 10.
Scott Walton paced Flomaton with 17 points, while Dominique Banks added 14.
Flomaton vs. Monroe County
Flomaton 10 13 8 25 - 56
Monroe Co. 8 25 22 18 - 73
FLOMATON (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Walton 5-0-7-17; Banks 2-0-10-14; Rees 3-0-1-7; Woods 0-2-0-6; Edwards 0-1-0-3; Brooks 1-0-1-3; Lambeth 1-0-0-2; Lewis 0-0-2-2; Ellis 0-0-2-2 (Totals: 12-3-23-56)
MONROE COUNTY (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) White 8-0-2-18; Stanton 5-0-2-12; Hybart 4-0-4-12; Poindexter 5-0-0-10; Richardson 3-0-0-6; Edwards 1-1-0-5; Coleman 2-0-0-4; Cunningham 2-0-0-4; Patrick 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 31-1-8-73)
Northview 61, Excel 56
Northview rode the sharp shooting from Nakita Myles in its first-round win over Excel. Myles threw in a first-day tournament high of 28 points.
The Chiefs (5-5) never got their lead into double digits, but led throughout the contest. Northview led 17-11 after one quarter, 32-27 at halftime and 46-40 through three quarters.
Steven Brown paced Excel (4-9) with 22 points, while Greg Hollinger added 13.
Northview vs. Excel
Northview 17 15 14 15 – 61
Excel 11 16 13 16 – 56
NORTHVIEW (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Myles 9-0-10-28; Longmire 4-3-0-17; Austin 2-0-2-6; Thomas 2-0-0-4; Lowery 1-0-0-2; Donaldson 1-0-0-2; Wright 0-0-2-2 (Totals: 19-3-14-61)
EXCEL (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Brown 6-0-10-22; Hollinger 6-0-1-13; M. Anderson 1-1-3-8; Betts 2-1-0-7; D. Anderson 1-0-2-4; Millender 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 17-2-16-56)