High School Basketball teams that compete in the same district usually do not like to face each other in holiday tournaments where the games won’t count in the district standings. The belief is that coaches don’t like to give a hands on preview of what their team might run offensively and how they handle situations defensively in an otherwise extra game in the regular season series between the two participating teams. The consolation game of the Sonic Shootout ended up pitting District 8-AA members Cannon County vs Livingston in a boys basketball contest Wednesday night in Sparta. Both coaches didn’t mind the extra meeting and used the contest to get their teams ready for the second half of the season. The Lions came out in the first quarter sluggish as they turned the ball over several times. Livingston was able to get out to an 11-0 start before Cannon scored their first field goal with 2:43 left to play in the first quarter. Once again just like in previous games where teams jumped ahead against Cannon, Livingston was able to maintain a comfortable margin lead on the Lions and picked up third place beating Cannon County 58-51. Austin Martin who received All Tournament Team selection scored 24 points while Briar Jakes added 12. The Lions fall to 6-11 on the year.
