By Tom Waddill
Patiently, the Hornets waited. They waited and waited Friday, biding their time while looking for a vulnerable spot to attack the Willis Wildkats.
Late in the second quarter, the Hornets found an opening. Up by 10, Huntsville started feeding the ball to their hottest shooter. Junior Justin Ennis knocked down five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 29 points to lead the Hornets to an easy 61-32 victory over the struggling Wildkats.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 3-0 in District 18-4A play and 15-5 on the season. Willis dropped to 0-2 and 4-14.
“Tonight, I just got some open looks,” Ennis said with a grin. “When I get those open looks, I just try to knock it down.”
Ennis popped a pair of 3s in the last three minutes of the first half. First, he connected from the left corner to put Huntsville on top 24-8. Then, after the Hornets held the ball for one shot, Ennis took a pass from senior Drae Murray and drained another 3-pointer to make it 29-12.
Ennis stayed hot in the third period. He nailed another 3 to open the second half, then he went inside and scored on a nifty pass from big man Kirby Ennis. Justin Ennis hit two more treys in the third to help push Huntsville’s lead to 51-24.
On a night when only one of the Hornets hit the double-digit mark in scoring, Ennis nearly did enough by himself to beat the Wildkats.
Huntsville, which has won eight games in a row, also got eight points from Murray, seven from Kirby Ennis, five from George Perry and four from Howard Brown.
Kirby Ennis grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and came up with six steals. He also had a nasty block early in the contest.
“We’ve just got to continue to get better,” Kirby Ennis said. “Justin was on fire tonight. They were double- and triple-teaming me, so I just kicked it out to him. We’ve got a lot of good players on this team. Whoever shows up is going to stay in the game. If they have it that night, we’re going to keep giving it to them.”
Justin Ennis certainly had it against the Wildkats. Playing both the point guard and shooting guard positions, the little guy with the soft touch kept finding ways to get open Friday. Alone when he caught the ball on several occasions, Ennis left his feet and buried the shots.
Ultimately, that buried any hope the Wildkats had of slowing the pace and pulling off a major upset.
“My role is a whole lot different this year,” Justin Ennis explained. “Coach (Doug Anderson) really didn’t need me to do much scoring last season with Michael (Williams) in there. Now that he’s gone, I’ve got to score more.”
Justin Ennis credited the guys around him, especially his buddy in the backcourt, for his big night.
“Drae is a great creator,” Ennis said. “When he creates, it gives me time to find my shot. We’ve got great chemistry because we’ve been playing together since Little Dribblers.”
For the third time in as many tries, the Hornets made it look easy against their latest district foe. Huntsville led 10-4 after one period, 29-12 at halftime and 51-24 at the end of three.
Playing the fourth quarter with mostly reserves, the Hornets outscored Willis 10-8.
Scoring two points apiece for the Hornets were Justin Gilbert, Shaquille Ross and Jercolby Gamble. Lonny Lipscomb and starter Marcus Irving finished with one point apiece.
The Hornets play at Caney Creek on Tuesday. Game time for the varsity contest is 5 p.m. Because the Panthers will be taking final exams, there only will be a varsity game played, and it will tip off more than two hours earlier than usual.
