Monroe sweeps Lee County in Tip-Off Classic

ALBANY — Monroe’s basketball teams opened the season Friday night with two victories, a little history and a promising glimpse of what lies ahead.

The No. 3-ranked Lady Golden Tornadoes pulled away from No. 8 Lee County for a 66-52 victory in the Dougherty County School System Tip-off Classic at Albany State West, while the Monroe boys used relentless defensive pressure and a big night from freshman King Leverette to roll past the Trojans, 75-42.

For the Monroe girls, the victory came with a historic milestone.

Senior Kie’Aundria “KJ” Acree scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, breaking a Dougherty County school system career scoring record that had stood since 1992. Acree surpassed the mark of 2,655 points established by Pertha Robinson with a basket in the final seven seconds.

But before Acree could celebrate history, the Lady Golden Tornadoes had to deal with a Lee County team that refused to go away.

The Lady Trojans jumped ahead 13-7 in the opening quarter behind Camya Hutcherson and Jada Ridley. Monroe’s Taylor McKinzy answered with a 3-pointer, and Lee County carried a slim 13-12 lead into the second quarter.

McKinzy gave Monroe its first lead at 14-13 with a driving basket, and Justyce Cole followed with a steal and layup to make it 16-13.

Lee County responded, however, and eventually built a 23-18 advantage.

Then Monroe took over.

McKinzy knocked down another 3-pointer to give the Lady Golden Tornadoes a 24-23 lead, and Acree helped turn the final minutes of the half into a Monroe scoring spree. She stole the ball, drove for a basket and completed a three-point play after drawing a foul as Monroe closed the half on a 13-0 run.

The Lady Golden Tornadoes led 31-23 at halftime.

Lee County wasn’t finished.

Hutcherson opened the second half with a 3-pointer from above the key, and the Lady Trojans began chipping away at Monroe’s lead. Ridley connected from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 43-40 before Hutcherson buried another 3-pointer to tie the game at 43.

But Monroe answered again.

Maleyah Hines hit free throws and followed with a basket to give the Lady Golden Tornadoes a 46-43 lead entering the fourth quarter.

This time, Monroe didn’t let Lee County back into the game.

The Lady Golden Tornadoes steadily pulled away, and McKinzy’s corner 3-pointer with 2:39 remaining pushed the lead to 60-47.

Acree put the finishing touches on the victory — and her place in the record books — with a basket in the final seven seconds.

Hines finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for Monroe, while McKinzy added 15 points and Cole scored seven.

Hutcherson led Lee County with 13 points, followed by Ridley with 11, Taliyah Porter with 10 and Kamari Franklin with eight.

Monroe boys roll behind freshman Leverette

The Monroe boys didn’t need any late-game heroics.

They used aggressive man-to-man pressure to disrupt Lee County’s offense, built a double-digit halftime lead and steadily pulled away in the second half.

The game was tied 5-5 early before Monroe scored six consecutive points, including a driving basket and free throw by Leverette, to take an 11-5 lead.

The Golden Tornadoes led 18-12 after the opening quarter.

Leverette took over in the second, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, including a falling-away shot that resulted in a four-point play when he was fouled and converted the free throw.

Monroe carried a 31-21 advantage into halftime.

Lee County’s Josiah Franklin tried to keep the Trojans within striking distance, but Monroe’s defensive pressure and balanced scoring proved too much.

Brandon Massey and Shane Richardson connected on 3-pointers in the third quarter as Monroe stretched its lead to 53-33.

By the time the Golden Tornadoes pushed the advantage to 69-39 with 2:40 remaining, the outcome had long since been decided.

Leverette finished with a game-high 20 points to lead a Monroe offense that had 12 different players score.

Robert Adams added eight points, and Richardson finished with seven.

Franklin led Lee County with 17 points, while Jayden Nelson added eight. The Trojans were playing without several starters who remain with Lee County’s football team, which defeated Northside 55-0 Friday night in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Monroe coach Michael Hoffpauir was pleased with his team’s defensive effort but said there is still work to do.

“I like the way we played defense tonight,” Hoffpauir said. “We are still trying to grow as a team and need to polish up our offense and our rebounding.”

Hoffpauir also praised the leadership of Elijah Rivers and the performance of his freshman standout.

“We had a great night of leadership from Elijah Rivers, and I’m extremely proud of our ninth-grader King Leverette,” he said.

For Monroe, it was a strong opening night.

Two games. Two victories. And one place in the record books.