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For the 13th year in a row, the Vincent Yellow Jackets will be headed to the sub-regional round of the playoffs thanks to a dominant win against Tarrant on Tuesday, Feb. 5. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor 

VINCENT – Earning the one seed and the right to host the area tournament proved to be big for the Vincent’s boys basketball team on Tuesday, Feb. 5, as the Yellow Jackets played host to four-seed Tarrant and dominated from start to finish.

Thanks to holding the Wildcats to single digits in three of four quarters and 11 or less in all four quarters, while also scoring at will offensively, the Jackets were able to claim a 73-30 victory and advance to the area tournament championship game as well as the postseason.

To say Vincent started fast and with a sense of urgency in this game would be an understatement. The Yellow Jackets came out and poured it on in the opening period to take a 20-point lead before Tarrant had even blinked.

The Wildcats had no answer inside for Chris Hardie early in the game, as he posted 10 points in the opening quarter, while also having no answer for jump shooters, as Caleb Wilson knocked down two 3-pointers and had eight points in the quarter and Jackson McGinnis knocked down three jumpers for six points.

Once all of that scoring was done, the Jackets had put up 24 points in the period, while playing just as good or better defensively by limiting Tarrant to one field goal and four points in the frame to give Vincent a 24-4 advantage.

While Vincent’s offense slowed the pace slightly in the second quarter, scoring only 10 points in the period, the defense kept laying down the hammer.

The Jackets allowed three field goals for seven points in the frame, and had shut Tarrant down in the first half allowing four made field goals in the first two quarters for 11 points, which allowed them to take a 34-11 lead into the halftime break.

Coming out of the locker room into the second half, Vincent wanted to leave no doubt.

After a somewhat lackluster second quarter offensively, the Yellow Jackets showed a different attitude in the third quarter and actually topped the 24 points they posted to start the game.

Hardie added eight more points in the post, while Ryshod Keith, KJ Youngblood, Treston Smith and McGinnis each had four or five points in the period, leading to a total of 26 points.

Defensively, it was the same story for Vincent, as the Jackets shut down Tarrant’s offense yet again. They allowed four field goals in the quarter, but only eight points, as the Wildcats had been held to eight points or less in the first three periods of the game allowing Vincent to take a commanding 60-19 advantage into the final period.

The fourth quarter of the game was a mere formality, as Vincent outscored Tarrant 13-11 to pick up the 73-30 victory.

Hardie led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 20 points, while McGinnis added 17 himself. Smith also got in on the double-digit scoring by posting 12 points, while eight players scored in all.

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