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SPORTS ALERT: Leander wins holiday tournament in The Colony

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THE COLONY - The Leander Lions racked up its second-straight tournament championship title on Tuesday, winning the Tommy Thomas Tournament hosted at The Colony High School.

Leander (18-2) also extended its winning streak to 13 games with a perfect 4-0 slate at the holiday tournament, including a thrilling 76-67 win over state-ranked Carrollton Newman Smith in the tournament final.

“The reason we came up here was to play strong teams and we did that,” said Leander coach Clint Bradley. “And to win against teams like Newman Smith and The Colony is big for us.”

Leander reached the tournament final earlier in the day with a 66-56 win over The Colony, as four players scored in double-figures in the win.

Abrean Jones, who was named Tournament MVP, led the way against The Colony with 22 points and 12 rebounds (8 of those rebounds coming in the fourth quarter). Joel Smith, named to the All-Tournament team, added 15 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

Also playing well in the win was Mark Nwakamma with 12 points, Jean Maurice Blanchard with 11 points and seven rebounds and a four-point, four-assist game from Marketh Biscoe.

In the tournament final against Newman Smith (ranked fourth in Class 4A), Leander never trailed and used two scoring runs in the fourth quarter to lock up the win.

Smith took over down the stretch, scoring 12 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists. Both Jones (10 rebounds) and Terrell Hughes (5 3-pointers) each poured in 17 points, while Nwakamma chipped in 10 rebounds and seven rebounds.

Symari Alexander added five points for Leander, followed by 12 rebounds from Blanchard.

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