DEMOPOLIS &045; The Sunshine Tigers took care of business early in its area game against host John Essex Hornets. They smashed John Essex 65-42.

Sunshine is unbeaten in the area and boasts a 12-3 overall record.

The Tigers jumped out the gate with a bucket just 10 seconds into the game. They built a 12-3 lead halfway through the quarter. Sunshine went up by double digits at the 3:32 mark and continued to pull away from there. The first quarter ended with a 24-8 score. The Tigers continued to dominate the game with their rebounding and inside scoring, pushing their advantage to 38-20 by half time.

The third quarter was disastrous for the Hornets. They managed only five points in the quarter, while Sunshine put up 22. Coach Jones had begun to play his bench the last two minutes of the third quarter to take a commanding 60-25 advantage to start the final quarter. The Tiger reserves finished the fourth quarter of the game.

Sunshine had three players that finished in double figures. Junior Justin Wagner grabbed game high scoring honors with 12 points. Darmekis Lewis added 11 points and Royce Hamilton chipped in 10 points. Jack Rainey scored 10 points for the Hornets.

Sunshine slashes Lady Hornets, 52-35

The Sunshine Lady Tigers had its way last night against the John Essex Lady Hornets. They beat up on John Essex to get a 52-35 area win. &8220;It’s hard to keep the kids focused in a game when you have control of a game with a big lead,&8221; said Lady Tiger coach Phillip Wagner, Jr.

The John Essex Lady Hornets scored the first field goal of the game, but Sunshine followed with a 14-0 run. The Lady Tigers close the first eight minutes of the game up 21-10. Freshman Shafontaye Myers dropped in 10 points in the quarter for Sunshine.

John Essex never got any closer than 10 points the rest of the way. They found themselves down 34-20 at half time.

The Lady Tigers led by as much as 25 points late in the third quarter and walked away with the win.

John Essex next game will be tomorrow, where they will host Isabella in another area contest. Sunshine will play in the hale County Tournament this weekend.