THOMASTON &8212; John Essex High School came into the A.L. Johnson Christmas tournament hungry. And while the undersized scrappy team didn&8217;t knock off their host, the Eagles, they did come out and show the A.L. Johnson group &8220;what getting after it&8221; meant.

But unfortunately for the Hornets hard wasn&8217;t enough to carry their first quarter lead for the duration. The bigger &8212; in both height and depth &8212; A.L. Johnson bunch came out in the second quarter looking to right the ship.

But once they started, the Eagles didn&8217;t stop. The group jumped over the Hornets and took an 11-point lead into the half. From there it was down hill running.

His team expanded on their 11-point lead in the final two quarters and ended the game up by 24 points, at 61-37. A.L. Johnson&8217;s leading scorer was Kejuan McGee with 16. The Eagles return to the court Saturday at Greene County High School, while the Hornets tip off at 5:30 tonight in the Demopolis Classic at Demopolis High School.