Tiger Sharks start new year with a win
The Port St. Joe boys basketball team got the new year off to a good start with a 55-25 win at Liberty County (4-8) on Friday, January 6.
Eighth grader Zay Jenkins led the way with 24 points, followed by Eli Harris with 10.
Mario Larry and TJ Jenkins added seven and six points, respectively. Chance Gainer scored three points, while Jay Stuckey and Donnel Hill finished with two points each.
The next night would not turn out in the Tiger Sharks favor, however, as the 11-3 Poplar Springs Atomics (Graceville) prevailed by a score of 59-50, dropping St. Joe’s record to 3-4.
TJ Jenkins led St. Joe with 22 points, and Zay Jenkins scored 15. Stuckey added five, LaJuan Zaccaro scored four, and JD Becton scored two points.
Earlier that same evening, the Poplar Springs girls emerged with a two point victory over the Port St. Joe girls, 47-45.
Down 13-7 after the first quarter, the Tiger Sharks rallied in the second frame and went to the locker room at halftime tied at 23-all.
The Atomics clawed their way back to take a 39-35 lead after three periods, and were able to maintain their slim lead until the final horn sounded.
Jae Lenox led St. Joe with 27 points, including six 3-pointers, along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Ty’Shawn Shackleford scored five points, while Mari Johnson and India Gant each scored four points. Johnson also pulled down 10 boards, and Gant dished out six assists.
With the win, the Lady Atomics improved to 8-6, while St. Joe fell to 4-5.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.