By Kris Freeman for White House High School
WHITE HOUSE – Ten players scored for the White House Blue Devils and the hosts bombed away from the perimeter Friday night with a dominating 87-46 win over visiting Merrol Hyde to close out the home regular season.
Junior Jimmy Allen stepped up and nailed two threes in the opening half, then piled on 12 more points for a game-high 18 points and added six rebounds.
Senior Amarion Lucas dropped in 16 points, three rebounds and four assists, and sophomore Bryce Hill did his damage in the opening half to help build a 39-27 lead for the Devils with 16 points in the first 16 minutes. Hill also had four rebounds and two assists.
The Blue Devils shot 53 percent from the field and made 12-of-26 from three-point range in the big win, pulling away late while holding Merrol Hyde to just 19 points total in the final two quarters.
White House held a 32-19 rebounding edge and forced 18 turnovers, while amassing an amazing 23-5 assist to turnover ratio of their own.
Sophomore Ryan Worrell had an impressive double double with 13 points, 13 assists and added five rebounds. Junior Zane Brown was the fifth Blue Devil in double figures with 10 points and two rebounds.
Junior Nolen Honeycutt came off the bench to score eight points and grab six boards, and Jaxon Roark, Maverick Mason, Layden Rogers and Josh Walker all added two points each.
Merrol Hyde got 17 points out of senior Kolton Garvon, but the Devils held him to just five of those in the second half. Tucker Smith scored 10, Mishael Ehijene added seven, Isaac Stephens four, Dylan Ward three and Ben Wheeler three.
White House picked up its eighth win of the year and avenged a last-second loss to Merrol Hyde earlier in the season. It was the second year in a row White House lost at Merrol Hyde early in the year and then came back to pick up a huge win at home. The Hawks fell to 5-18 overall.
White House finished the year with a makeup game at Greenbrier on Monday, losing 79-47 to the top-ranked Bobcats. Against Greenbrier, White House got 13 points from Zane Brown and 10 points from Ryan Worrell, with Bryce Hill adding eight, Jimmy Allen seven, Amarion Lucas three, Nolen Honeycutt two, Michael Albin two and Dawson Carson two.
Greenbrier swept White House, winning the battle of the boards 43-22 and forcing 13 turnovers. The Bobcats shot 53 percent from the field and held White House to just 32 percent. Derek Taylor had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Bryson Merrill added 16 points and four boards. Brayden Rector had 11, Nathan Reed nine and Jace Mangrum seven. Greenbrier finished 7-1 in district play and 23-3 overall.
White House will play Thursday in a winner-take-all elimination game in the first round of the District 9-3A boys tournament. The game will be played at White House at 6:30 p.m. against Montgomery Central. White House is 2-0 against the Indians this year, winning in overtime on the road and then a blowout victory just two weeks ago at White House Middle School.
The winner of Thursday’s game earns a Region 5-3A berth and will advance to the District 9-3A semifinals against Greenbrier on Saturday night. On the other side of the bracket, two-seed Creek Wood hosts three-seed Portland on Saturday. The two losers from Saturday will play Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the consolation game, and the two winners from Saturday will play Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the championship game.
All four teams from Saturday’s action will automatically advance to the region quarterfinals, but seeding is dependent upon district tournament finish.
White House is trying to advance back to the Region 5 Tournament for the first time since 2019, when the Devils lost in the region quarterfinals at East Nashville.
