The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

Malcolm Logue ignites Lebanon win




Lebanon's Malcolm Logue finished with 36 points in Friday's 68-45 win over Portland at Campbell Brandon GymnasiumSteve Wampler

Lebanon’s Malcolm Logue finished with 36 points in Friday’s 68-45 win over Portland at Campbell Brandon GymnasiumSteve Wampler

Junior guard scores 36 against Portland

LEBANON — Sometimes big things come from small packages.

Point guard Malcolm Logue, the shortest guy on the court, exploded for a career-high 36 points to lead Lebanon to a 68-45 win over Portland in Friday’s regular season finale at Campbell Brandon Gymnasium.

A junior, Logue scored nine of Lebanon’s first 11 points, finishing with seven 3-pointers, a pair of old fashioned 3-point plays and going 7-of-7 at the free throw line.

His 36 points was the most for a Blue Devil since Cameron High scored 42 against White County High some eight years ago.

“We’ve talked to Malcolm and told him if he can consistently knock down the perimeter shot he’s going to be hard to guard,” said LHS coach Jim McDowell.

“I’m really proud of him. He’s matured a lot over the course of the last two years. He didn’t force shots, he just took what came to him.”

Scrappy Portland (8-17 / 2-12 district) outscored Lebanon 11-6 in the second period and trailed only 24-20 at intermission.

Portland's Darius Bell (22) goes to the bucket against Lebanon's Ethan Njezic in Friday's loss to the Blue DevilsSteve Wampler

Portland’s Darius Bell (22) goes to the bucket against Lebanon’s Ethan Njezic in Friday’s loss to the Blue DevilsSteve Wampler

Lebanon put the game on ice with a 23-7 fourth quarter run — improving to 20-7 overall and 11-3 in the district.

In fact, the Blue Devils reached the 20-win mark for the fifth consecutive season headed into a 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15 District 9-AAA tournament opener against No. 7 Wilson Central at Gallatin’s Jerry Vradenburg Gymnasium.

“Our bunch, everytime they step on the floor, they think they’re going to win,” McDowell said of his team. “Game to game, we’ve had different people step up, we’ve got a lot of guys who can play. We’e pretty deep, we’re experienced. We’ve been looking forward to this time of year.”

As a team, the Blue Devils finished with 13 3-pointers and went a perfect 9-for-9 at the line.

Winners in 10 of the last 11 outings since Jan. 1, Lebanon enters tournament play as the district’s No. 2 seed, behind Mt. Juliet.

No. 8-seeded Portland is scheduled to take on regular season champion Mt. Juliet (22-4) Friday at 7 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup.

Friday losers will be eliminated while the winners will advance to the semifinals Saturday at Gallatin.

Lebanon 68, Portland 45

PORTLAND (45): Darius Bell 17, Mitchell Eagle 14, Austin Hicks 7, DeQuan Bradley 4, Jakob Hester 2, Duncan Smallwood 1.

LEBANON (68): Malcolm Logue 36, Gaven Reasonover 9, Jeremiah Hastings 8, Evan Britt 6, David Greene 6, Luka Saller 3.

Halftime score: 24-20, Lebanon.

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