Southland survives Chargers for a Homecoming victory

CARDWELL, Mo. - It was Homecoming night at Southland High School but the Delta C-7 Chargers were leading the Rebels 48-41 heading into the final quarter.

As they looked to spoil Southland’s celebrations, the momentum shifted out of the Chargers' favor. At the final buzzer, the Rebels cheered in victory, beating the Chargers 67-61.

According to Southland head coach Tyre Washington, this win for his team was important for them to defend their homecoming. However, it also shifted the makings of their MSHSAA District assignment and gave them a boost of confidence heading into the Tri-County Conference Tournament as Delta C-7 is a potential conference and district opponent in the near future. Along with those factors going into play, Tyre also notes this as a sweet revengeful win.

“I think this is a big win because we have been up and down here lately,” Tyre said. “This was a team that got us earlier in the season, so we just wanted to come back out here and get some revenge and this can help make up our district seeding as well.”

The Chargers handed Southland their first loss at the turn of the new year on Jan. 3. The final score was 74-69. This time, they wanted to make sure they found a different outcome.

The two teams came out evenly matched as they were tied at 15 points through the first quarter. Southland found a small advantage at halftime with a 35-31 lead, but neither team would start pulling away from the other as the Chargers came back and took the third quarter.

They limited Southland to only six points in the third, while they went on a 17-point run.

Delta C-7’s junior Carlos (C.J.) Wallace was a problem for the Rebels. He led their run with 10 points in the third quarter. Through three quarters, he was already sitting at 23 points and showed no signs of slowing down.

Then in the fourth quarter, Tyre argued a call and received a technical foul. From there, everything changed.

“Last season was my first technical-free season,” Tyre said. “I was trying to do it again this year, but everything in me knew it was time. These officials do a great job, I would not want that job so kudos to them. I just didn’t agree with that call but everyone on my team was saying ‘Thank you for that technical, it really fired us up.’”

The Rebels had their best quarter of the game as their coach was forced to sit for the remainder. They scored 26 points in the fourth to overcome the Wallace and Chargers for a redemption victory. Despite their loss, Wallace still had nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 32.

Their fiery fourth quarter was led by Tyre’s son, sophomore Camden Washington. Coming off the bench, Camden would be Southland’s top scorer. He had 10 points in the fourth quarter and would finish with 20 points overall.

“After that technical, our coach was just telling us to keep our head up,” Camden said. “So that’s what we did and we succeeded. We worked well as a team this game, I got hot there in the fourth but it was just a team effort all around.”

Camden would finish the game with 6 three-pointers, making up 18 of his 20 points. His shooting performance is ranked in the top 50 in Missouri for the most three-pointers made in a game, tied at 33rd.

Following Camden’s scoring, Senior Lonnie (Trace) Gibson would finish with 17 points and junior Braylan Cox put up 10 points.

Along with Wallace for Delta C-7, Hunter Ward also scored in double-digits with 10 points. Ward made three three-pointers in the first half and was 3-3 from the free-throw line.

Now the Rebels hope this come-back win can give them momentum heading into another tough matchup against Malden and the Tri-County Conference Tournament.

The Rebels have been on a trend of redemption. Every time they drop a game, they will come back and take the next one.

Their last 10 games have followed this pattern of losing a game, then winning a game, leading them to a 5-5 record since the New Year and a 12-9 record overall.

Tyre said he hopes to break this pattern as they face Malden and get on a winning streak for the Conference Tournament.

“Malden will be a test, that’s a game we aren’t supposed to win,” Tyre said. “Our whole mantra this season has been to win a game we’re not supposed to win. We’ve been close a couple of times but haven’t gotten over the hump. I hope we can use this energy and carry it over against Malden and maybe pull off an upset.”

This game against Malden on Feb. 7 will be the Green Wave’s Homecoming. The Varsity are set to play at 7:30 p.m.

The Chargers will host their final home game of the season on the same night at 7 p.m. against St. Vincent.