The Taylor Ducks varsity boys basketball team went 4-1 in the Lehman Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 4-6.
The Ducks moved to 6-2 overall on the season.
Austin Navarro
The Ducks got off to a hot start in the tournament with a 71-40 victory over the Vikings. Taylor shot a season-high 79% from the field as senior guard Kadrien Deary led the team in points going 10-of-13 from the field with 22 points and three rebounds.
Taylor’s defense also showed its dominance as it was able to turn steals into fast break points and slow down the Vikings scoring throughout the contest. The Ducks had some other notable performances from senior guard Braylon Rivers, sophomore Markell Fitzgerald and freshman Elijah Afenkhena.
Rivers had 15 points, while Fitzgerald and Afenkhena both had 11 points.
Austin Northeast The Ducks continued their dominant defensive prowess as they held the Panthers to 40 points in a 71-40 victory. Taylor was led by Deary, who added 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
Taylor once again was efficient as it shot 60% from the field.
Some other notable performances came from Afenkhena and junior forward Landon Coulter.
Afenkhena had 14 points, while Coulter added 11.
Austin Crockett
Taylor had its sole loss in the tournament in a 47-45 loss to the Crockett Cougars. The Ducks were led by Fitzgerald, who had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Ducks battled in a strong defensive effort but were unable to weather the storm in the end as it came up short on final possession.
Deary had his tournament low in the points going 4-of-9 from the field with 11 points.
Coulter and Afenkhena combined for 13 points.
Austin Travis
The Ducks got back to their winning ways as they defeated the Rebels 66-53. Taylor was powered by Fitzgerald, who had a season high of 28 points, going 11-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.
The Ducks had to hold off a high scoring Rebels offense but were able to pull away in the fourth quarter. Rivers and Deary were the only other double-digit scorers as Rivers had 12 points, while Deary had 11.
Afenkhena contributed nine points.
Lehman Lobos
Taylor closed out the tournament with a 54-47 victory over the Lehman Lobos as Deary once again led the team with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
The Ducks shot 51 percent from the field as they were able to hold on to the victory late in the fourth quarter.
Afenkhena was the only other double-digit scorer with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Rivers and Coulter combined for 11 points.
Taylor took on Gatesville on Tuesday and will return to tournament play at Geronimo Navarro High School on Thursday, Dec. 11-13.
