By PATRICK CASEY
The Paxton Bobcats had little trouble with district for Poplar Springs on Friday night as both the girls and boys basketball squads posted victories by a large margin.
The Lady Bobcats jumped out to a 19-7 advantage after the first quarter as five different players got on the scoreboard with senior Quinn Williams providing a pair of shots from behind the arc.
Paxton continued to get scoring from several different players in the second quarter as they ran off to a 38-19 lead at intermission while hitting 12-of-26 shots from the field. The Bobcats were also money at the line as they made 9-of-10 free throws in the first half.
The Bobcats posted a 14-5 scoring advantage in the third quarter for a 52-24 lead with Cassidy Brazile adding five or her 12 points in the period.
A 16-2 run in the fourth quarter widened the final margin to 68-26 with freshman Katie Sebastian scoring seven of her 11 points on the night during that time.
The Walton County squad connected on 24-of-46 shots from the field while making 14-of-17 from the free throw line. The Bobcats had only nine turnovers while forcing 18 as their defense held the visiting Atomics to 7-of-31 shooting from the field.
Brazile finished with 12 points while Sebastian and Bethany Neale each had 11. Senior Emily Murray added 10.
The Paxton boys took a 20-8 lead after the first quarter as they forced 12 turnovers from the visiting team with Austin Carnley scoring 10 of his 13 points on the night in that frame.
The Bobcats held Poplar Springs scoreless for the next two quarters, leading 46-8 at the half and 55-8 after three quarters of play.
Paxton posted a final score of 64-13 with Desmond Moore adding 12 points and Grant Stewart 11 to move to 2-0 on the year.
The Atomics had no player score more than three points in the game while hitting only 5-of-25 shots from the field with no free throw attempts for the team. The Atomics had 24 turnovers in the game as compared to just five for the Bobcats.
Paxton also won the junior varsity girls and boys games to earn a clean sweep in the four contests.
The Lady Bobcats moved to 3-0 on the year with a 66-25 victory in Baker on Saturday night.
Team Notes: Jeff Bradley is in his 16th season as the boys coach at Paxton and holds a 294-130 mark in that time. He is just five wins from tying former Paxton coach Philip Anderson at 299. The Paxton boys are 19-1 against Poplar Springs since the 1994-95 season. Jeff Bradley is 14-0 versus the Atomics. Steve Williams is in his fifth season as the Lady Bobcats coach and holds a mark of 89-25 at the school. The Paxton girls are 27-1 against the Atomics since the 1992-93 season.
