PINEVILLE — South Laurel rolled to a convincing 64-35 victory over Hancock County, Tenn., on Friday to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal round of the 3rd Annual Redmond Auto Group Holiday Classic.
The Cardinals improved to 5-3 on the season and will square off against Jefferson County, Tenn., with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
South Laurel set the tone early, jumping out to a 16-4 first-quarter lead and never allowing Hancock County to get into a rhythm.
Kaiden McQueen led the early surge with seven points in the opening period while Garrison Brown added five as the Cardinals established control on both ends of the floor.
The momentum continued into the second quarter as Brendan Murphy scored four points, Kaden Taylor knocked down a three-pointer, and Braydan Cassidy added three points to help South Laurel take a 28-14 advantage into halftime.
Taylor poured in seven points in the third quarter, McQueen added six, and Murphy chipped in five as South Laurel extended its lead to 54-23 entering the final quarter.
McQueen and Cassidy led the Cardinals with 13 points apiece. Murphy finished with 10 points and was named Player of the Game while Taylor also scored 10 points. Brown rounded out the scoring with nine points.
Following the win, South Laurel coach Jeff Davis said his team still has room to improve heading into Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup.
“Not the start we wanted,” he said. “Too many mental errors in the first half. Which was expected coming off a three day break. Thought second half we played a lot better and with a lot more energy. We will have to play a lot better tomorrow if we are going to stay in the game.”
