Yellow Jackets off to 2-1 start behind Campbell

Published 12:48 pm Monday, November 21, 2016

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

VINCENT – The Vincent Yellow Jackets are off to a 2-1 start after taking down 5A Jemison in their second game of the season by a score of 56-41 on Nov. 17, and falling to Childersburg 49-33 on Nov. 18.

The Yellow Jackets’ early success can be contributed to returning star Stephen Campbell, who has contributed back-to-back double double performances that included a game high 33 points and 12 rebounds against Jemison. He also added four steals in that game. Against Childersburg he added a game high 21 points and 13 rebounds, along with three assists and two more steals. Through two games the senior has put up a combined 75 points, 33 rebounds, nine assists and 12 steals. That’s good enough for an averaged of 25 points and 11 rebounds per game.

This has been fantastic for coach John Hadder, who before the season said he was going to have to go back to a smaller lineup and Campbell was “primed for a good year.” Hadder came into the season needing his senior guard to step up, and he’s done just that.

Vincent jumped out to an early 15-8 lead in the first quarter against Jemison and although the second quarter was a bit closer the Yellow Jackets took a 32-24 lead into halftime.

They came out in the second half and didn’t let up outscoring the Panthers by two in the third quarter and five in the fourth to go on to a 15-point victory and advance to 2-0. Ryan Thompson of Jemison led the Panthers with 18 points while Wes Mcgehee added 14.

The next night, against Childersburg, the Yellow Jackets went in the opposite direction. After outscoring Jemison in every quarter the night before, Vincent was outscored in every quarter against the Tigers.

They fell behind early, almost being doubled up, after Childersburg jumped out to a 19-11 lead through one quarter of play.

Both offenses disappeared in the second quarter, but the Tigers still got the better of the Yellow Jackets with a 7-3 advantage in the quarter. The second half featured a much closer contest with Childersburg only outscoring Vincent 23-19, but the first half deficit made the score look lopsided with Childersburg winning 49-33.

Tra Twyman led Childersburg with 17 points, while Syheem Young added 11.