Warren Central stunned in division showdown with Forest Hill|[2/2/05]

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Warren Central got a wake-up call from Forest Hill Tuesday night, then rolled over and went back to sleep before it was time to go to work.

Tore’Jalia Sudduth hit a jumper with 20 seconds to play to give Forest Hill the lead, and Jessica Thomas hit a pair of free throws 15 seconds later to ice one of the most stunning upsets of the season.

Sudduth finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and Lauren Morrow scored 14 points as Forest Hill (6-16, 2-3 Division 6-5A) beat Warren Central 52-48.

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“I’m hoping it’s a wake-up call. It better be after we get through with three days of practice here,” WC coach Donny Fuller said.

Warren Central (18-5, 4-1) was coming off a big win Saturday against No. 4 Harrison Central and may have been looking ahead to this Saturday’s game against archrival Vicksburg. Whatever the reason, the Lady Vikes were in a funk all night long.

They missed nine of their first 10 shots and were dominated on the boards the whole game. Cookie Johnson led the team with 17 points and nine rebounds, but no other WC player had more than three boards. By contrast, four of Forest Hill’s five starters grabbed at least five rebounds and three players had nine or more.

“I hate to see what the rebound totals are going to be when I chart the tape,” Fuller said. “There’s no telling how many offensive rebounds they got. I think one time they shot the ball five or six times. We just didn’t block out. We didn’t come ready to play.”

(B) WC 83, Forest Hill 61

As the final horn sounded on Warren Central’s win over Forest Hill, the Vikings’ Shaun Walker threw an alley-oop pass to Mario Luckett. Luckett tipped it in, apparently well after time had expired, but the officials counted it anyway.

It was just that kind of night for WC. Even when they weren’t really trying to score, they did.

Warren Central shot an astonishing 71 percent for the game, committed only 11 turnovers and closed the game with a 12-0 run to complete a blowout of the Rebels.

“That’s about as well as anybody can,” WC coach Jesse Johnson said of his team’s offensive effort. The Vikings hit 13 of their first 15 shots. “The biggest thing about that is, we got a lot of them inside. When you’re driving the ball to the goal, that’s a high-percentage shot … Our game is going to the basket with the ball.”

Chico Hunter led WC (15-9, 3-2) with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Walker totaled 16 points. Brandon Brinson had 20 points for Forest Hill (14-10, 4-2), which somehow managed to stay in the game until the end despite WC’s hot shooting touch.

The Rebels shot a respectable 45 percent from the field through the first three quarters, and trailed 55-48 at the end of the third. Forest Hill went 4-for-13 in the fourth quarter, however, including an 0-for-7 effort from 3-point range, and WC pulled away late.