By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

VINCENT – It’s been an up and down early start to the 2016-17 basketball season for the Vincent Yellow Jackets (4-3), but one thing has remained consistent, and that is senior standout Stephen Campbell. Campbell posted 21 of his team’s 33 points in a losing effort to Childersburg on Nov. 29, but rebounded with an astonishing 41 of Vincent’s 60 points in a 60-46 win over TC Central on Dec. 1.

The 41 points were a career high for Campbell as he shot 12-17 from the field, including 5-7 from beyond the arc, and 12-14 from the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds to complete the best performance of his high school career. The tremendous shooting clinic he put on was good enough for 70.5 percent from the field, 71.4 from three and 85.7 percent from the free throw line.

Vincent came into the game having lost three of its last four games, two of which were by one point, but Campbell wasn’t going to let that happen again.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the first quarter behind 72.2 percent shooting from the field. Vincent continued impressive impressive start by outscoring Central 11-6 in the second quarter. Even though they are a smaller team playing five guards at any given time, Vincent was able to grab seven offensive boards in the quarter to help them propel out to a 28-13 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Childersburg turned up the heat and tried to claw their way back into the game outscoring the Yellow Jackets 18-12 to cut the lead to 40-31. Vincent had three turnovers to zero assists, which created for a .0 assist/turnover ratio in the quarter. Turnovers were the only downfall for Vincent on the night as they had 16 turnovers to just four assists.

The Yellow Jackets were able to overcome that struggle in the fourth quarter by heating up on the offensive end again, shooting 60 percent from the field and making eight of their 11 free throws down the stretch to seal the 60-46 win with 20 points in the quarter.

Campbell led the way with his career high 41 points and eight rebounds, while Chris Hardie added eight points and seven rebounds.

With the win, Vincent moved above .500 on the season once again, which may not be satisfaction enough for a team that could be 6-1. Through seven games, Campbell is averaging 27 points per game on 52 percent shooting from the field and 52.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. He is also averaging eight rebounds per game.