McCall leads West Bladen past Fairmont 68-61

Tylik McCall recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds Friday night to lead West Bladen to a 68-61 Southeastern Conference boys’ basketball victory over Fairmont.

The Knights (10-5, 2-0 Southeastern) will host Red Springs on Tuesday night.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well (30%),” West Bladen coach Travis Pait said. “But we gutted it out. It was a big-time win for us. Our defense was good, and we rebounded well.” The Knights forced 26 turnovers and held a 38-28 edge on the backboards.

“We really executed well in the last three minutes and ran some of our old stuff from previous years,” Pait said. “Any win against Montrell’s team (Fairmont Coach McNair) is big. He does a good job and they are always strong.”

Master sports schedule | Standings

McCall also dished out a team-high four assists. Jackson Pait pumped in 12 points and collected four rebounds, seven deflections and two blocks. Kendell Lessane added 11 points and four rebounds, and Keonta Hill tallied nine points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

In the girls’ game, sophomores Lyric McNair and Aaliyah Duran combined for 34 points to lead Fairmont to a 74-9 victory over the Knights.

McNair finished with 19 points and Duran followed with 15 points. Freshmen Kaziyah McLean and Kimiyah Smith added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Fairmont (13-1, 2-0 Southeastern)

Abigail Dew and Natalee Sykes nailed 3-point shots for West Bladen (1-11, 0-2 Southeastern) in the first half. Logan Powers added a basket and Serenity Council sank a free throw in the final period.

Gaston Russ and Shyron Thompson keyed a 16-7 closing run that rallied West Bladen to a 41-38 Southeastern Conference junior varsity boys’ victory.

Fairmont had rode a 10-2 spurt to a 31-25 lead entering the final quarter. Russ drained a 3-point shot and another basket and Thompson battled inside for a pair of buckets to spark the West Bladen rally.

Sincere McKinley and Isaiah Minus tossed in baskets, and Mark’kus Bass buried a 3-point shot to complete the winning spurt for the Knights (6-3, 2-0 Southeastern).

VARSITY BOYS: WEST BLADEN 68, FAIRMONT 61

Fairmont (61) — Ayden Cummings 2, Jeremiah Morris 12, Omarion Carmichael 8, Jaxhon Sealey 2, JayVon Brown, Josh Townsend 2, Damarious Jones 7, Elijah McCollum, Xavion Pittman 15, Ja’Marre Wright, Tariq Leggett 4, Daone Baldwin, Jacob McCollum 9.

West Bladen (68) — Jackson Pait 12, Demarion Bryant 5, Tylik McCall 19, Kendell Lessane 11, Keonta Hill 9, Jaquan Lesane 4, Jamari Adams-Peterson 4, Carnell Lewis 4, Cyncere Jessup, Blake Britt, Justin Spaulding.

VARSITY GIRLS: FAIRMONT 74, WEST BLADEN 9

Fairmont (74) — Lyric McNair 19, Aaliyah Duran 15, Jayda Dial 5, Laila Grady 3, Kimiyah Smith 10, Kaziyah McLean 11, Amiyah McLean 9, Zamysia Murphy, Khadijah Hunt 2.

West Bladen (9) — Hadley Dove, Amiya McCarty, Haley Taylor, Abigail Dew 3, Saniya Martin, Harmony Richardson, Kali Allen, Natalee Sykes 3, Abigail Dicicco, Logan Powers 2, Lauryn Lesane, Serenity Council 1.

JV BOYS: WEST BLADEN 41, FAIRMONT 38

FAIRMONT (38) — Khammari M. 4, Gage J. 3, Shamar R. 10, Hulk M. 2, Trail M. 2, Jacob H., Jason H., Kayion E. 2, Tylik S. 2, Dawillian N. 9, Damarrius L., Malachi J. 4.

WEST BLADEN (41) — Drake Gause, Jace Lesane 3, Isaiah Minus 10, Ussiah Gause, Gaston Russ 10, Sincere McKinley 7, Isaiah Lloyd, Mark’kus Bass 5, Sterling Davis, Shyron Thompson 6, Jarvis McMillian, Jeremiah Bryan, Rylan Bordeaux.