By DREW GRANTHUM/Sports Writer

While the inclement winter weather brought on by Winter Storm Leon postponed the opening round of the AISA regional basketball tournament, the break didn’t seem to face the Kingwood Christian School boys and girls basketball teams. Both squads took victory in the first of their respective tournaments, with each travelling to host site Fort Dale Academy in Greenville on Jan. 31.

The girls’ squad registered victory first, as the Lions took down Morgan Academy, 52-31.

The Lions jumped on the board first, racing out to a 16-9 lead after the first quarter of play. The Lions followed the opening act up with an equally dominating second quarter, this time outscoring the Senators 17-6. After a half of play, Kingwood led, 33-16.

The Lions didn’t let up, continuing to outplay the Senators coming out of the half. Kingwood outpaced Morgan again in the third quarter, 11-6. With the game well all but decided, the Senators managed to outscore Kingwood in the fourth, 13-8, but it was too little, too late as the Lions held on for the 52-31 win.

Kayla Brown led the Lions with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals. Zarria Morgan posted a double-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds, seven steals and four assists. Kingwood moved on to take on Escambia Feb. 1.

The Kingwood boys were also victorious, taking down the Monroe Academy Volunteers, 67-47.

The Lions opened up the game in dominating fashion, routing the Volunteers 22-4 through the first quarter of play. Kingwood continued the effort in the second quarter, outscoring Monroe Academy 16-14. Heading into the locker room for halftime, the Lions found themselves comfortably ahead, 38-18.

Following intermission, the Lions picked scoring right back up, this time outpacing Monroe 16-14 in the third period of play.

While the Volunteers were able to outscore the Lions 15-13 in the fourth quarter, the Kingwood lead was simply too much to overcome, as the Lions took the 67-47 lead.

C’Yontai Lewis led the Lions with 21 points, while John Fillingim, Josh Purvis and Silas Edwards all posted nine points apiece.

Kingwood moved on to face Fort Dale on Feb. 2.