McGill-Toolen 60, Holt 44: Dozier, Williams lead Yellow Jackets to tournament title

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama - Tournament MVP Deion Dozier and teammate Marlon Williams each had 10 points as McGill-Toolen cruised past Holt 60-44 Wednesday at the "Cave" to win the second-annual Robertsdale Pre-Thanksgiving Shootout for the second straight year.

"This is a good tournament for us to play in," McGill coach Phillip Murphy said. "This is the second straight year that we have won it. We were able to get three great games out of it and now we get to go home happy for Thanksgiving. It was a great tournament. Early on in the season, it's good to play in something like this where you can play three games back-to-back-to-back over three days. It helps you build and get better."

Besides knocking off Holt, McGill also beat Minor and Lee-Montgomery to go undefeated in the event.

"I'm extremely proud of our guys," said Murphy of his team. "They're a hard-working group and a lot of fun to be around. We were able to beat a scrappy Holt team today."

Holt (2-5) was led by Dee Hughes with a game-high 13 points.

McGill trailed for only a few seconds in the game after Holt hit the first basket, but by the end of the opening period the Yellow Jackets were ahead 15-9 and were up by double-digits at halftime, 35-22.

"We were able to get Holt to turn the ball over and get a lot of baskets in transition," said Murphy. "We also rebounded well on the defensive boards. That's kind of the key to what we've been doing. We dominated the glass against our opponent and that's helping us form our identity as a team. We're also having two or three players coming off the bench for us and contributing. That's going to be key for us as we continue on through the season."

McGill also shot well from the free throw line, nailing 13 of 18 free throws.

Holt coach Torrance Beard said his team fell behind by too many points early on and could never catch up. 
"We just spotted them too many points," Beard said. "We're not shooting free throws too well at the moment either. Right now, we're growing up."

The second half of the game, things didn't change much as McGill maintained its double-digit lead.

"I thought the whole second half of the game was sloppy," said Murphy. "We just weren't as focused. We weren't tired, I just think after three straight days of games, everyone is ready for a break."