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slideshow

Wes McCard

Sports Editor

After winning the State Championship in 2012, the Thomaston-Upson County 12 & Under All-Stars are looking for a repeat performance in 2013. After easily defeating Harris County, Hapeville, and Villa Rica last week in the District 4 Tournament, the hometown boys are headed back to the State Tournament to defend their crown. Below are game recaps from the tournament.

Game 1

Thomaston-Upson: 73

Harris County: 27

The Thomaston-Upson All-Stars took a 17-0 lead with just 2:21 left in the first quarter over Harris County, showing they meant business when it comes to defending their State Championship. The T-U Stars had three players scored at least 15 points in the contest, and never allowed more than nine points in any single quarter.

Their tenacious full court press kept the Harris County All-Stars frustrated. The hometown boys held a commanding 43-15 lead at halftime, and cruised to a 73-27 victory. The back court combo of Zyrice Scott and Jaylen Martin gave Harris County fits defensively, and big man Travon Walker was unstoppable down low.

Walker and Martin each finished the game with 19 points to lead the T-U Stars. Martin scored 10 of his 19 points in the first quarter, helping the Thomaston-Upson All-Stars jump out to the big lead. Zyrice Scott added 15 points in the game, JaCorey Smith scored six points, Derrius Hayes added five points, Christian Goodwin tallied four points, Javeon Walker and Caleb Raines each scored two points, while Anthony Wiggins chipped in with one point.

Game 2

Thomaston-Upson: 67

Hapeville: 45

The All-Stars from Hapeville tried to hang with the T-Town All-Stars, and did so for nearly three quarters of the game. However, in the end it was a dominating fourth quarter which gave the T-U Stars the 67-45 victory.

Jaylen Martin led the hometown boys balanced scoring attack with 15 points. Four other player also reached double figures for Thomaston-Upson.

The Thomaston-Upson All-Stars held a slim 30-27 lead at halftime over Hapeville, but the local boys from Upson County outscored Hapeville 37-18 over the last two quarters to earn the 67-45 victory. With the victory, the Thomaston-Upson All-Stars moved on to the Championship Game, giving them a chance to return to the State Tournament.

Championship Game

Thomaston-Upson: 81

Villa Rica: 66

In the Championship Game against Villa Rica and a spot in the State Tournament in the balance, the Thomaston-Upson All-Stars scored a tournament high 81 points, led by Zyrice Scott’s tournament high 25 points. As was the case in the two previous game, the local boys showed a balance scoring attack, with four player scoring at least 15 points in the game.

After holding a slim two point 19-17 lead at the end of the first quarter, is was Scott who put the team on his shoulders and took the game over. Scott scored 10 of his 25 points in the second quarter, including making five of his six free throws in the quarter. Scott took a team high 14 free throw attempts in the game, making 11 of those attempts. Scott’s second quarter performance gave the T-U Stars a 45-31 lead at halftime.

That lead would be more than enough for the T-Town kids, as they outscored Hapeville 36-35 in the second half of the game. With the 81-66 victory, the T-U All-Stars will now have a chance to defend their State Title when they travel to Habersham County on Friday.

Scott led all player with his 25 point performance. Jaylen Martin added 18 points in the victory, Travon Walker scored 16 points, JaCorey Smith tallied 15 points, Anthony Wiggins finished with three points, while Derrius Hayes and Javeon Walker each chipped in with two points.

The Thomaston-Upson All-Stars finished the tournament with four players averaging double figures. Zyrice Scott scored 53 points in the tournament (17.6 ppg), Jaylen Martin tallied 52 points (17.3 ppg), Travon Walker 47 points (15.6 ppg), and JaCorey Smith 33 points (11.0 ppg). The Thomaston-Upson All-Stars outscored their opponents by a total score of 221-138 during the three day tournament.

The 12 & Under All-Stars will now travel to Habersham County on Friday, as they prepare to defend their State Championship.