Bradwell Institute hosted South Effingham and then traveled to Richmond Hill this week for basketball games. Liberty County split wins on the road Friday at Thomson. First Presbyterian Christian Academy’s boys’ basketball team went 2-1 in home games this week.
Bradwell
The Tigers hosted South Effingham Tuesday. The girls lost 43-39 in a close matchup. The Lady Tigers turned it around Friday at Richmond Hill, winning 46-34. Both games were Region 3-AAAAA contests.
Stats from Tuesday’s loss were not available at press time.
Friday at the Lady Wildcats’ home gym, it was senior Lady Tiger Brianna Johnson who set the pace, scoring 18 points. Lady Wildcat Tiara Gandy kept challenging the Lady Tiger squad, dumping in 20 points.
The game was tight early, with the Lady Tigers holding a 10-8 lead at the close of the first quarter. Bradwell extended its lead to eight at the half. The Lady Tigers then held the Wildcats to 18 points in the second half while they ran up 22 to keep the lead and earn the win.
Rayona Shuman dropped in eight points, Esperanza Castro added seven, Alyssa McDuffie hit six points, Ashanti Harris added five and Jasmina Blevins contributed two for the Lady Tigers.
The Lady Tigers are 11-12 overall and 3-9 in the region.
The Tiger boys suffered back-to-back region losses this week. Tuesday night, the boys fell 49-46 in an intense home battle against South Effingham. Friday night at Richmond Hill, the Tigers lost 64-38.
BI is 5-16 overall and 1-11 in region play.
The Tiger teams were set to play Saturday afternoon at Tattnall County in non-region games. Tuesday, the teams wrap up regular-season play at Statesboro, beginning at 6 p.m.
Liberty County
Liberty County played at Thomson Friday, where the girls suffered a region 3-AAAA loss and the boys earned another region win.
The Lady Panthers fell 45-36. The Liberty girls trailed by one at the close of the first quarter and matched basket for basket in the second quarter. Each team scored 12, keeping the Lady Panthers down by just one at the half. Liberty was still in the game, trailing 29-27 at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Bulldogs then went on to outscore the Lady Panthers 16-9 in the final quarter for the win.
The Lady Panthers are 4-12 overall and 2-5 in the region.
The Liberty boys jumped to 18-1 overall and 7-0 in the region after beating Thomson 80-72.
The Bulldogs had a much better performance on their home court compared to the 100-53 loss they suffered against Liberty in Fleming. Box scores and final stats for Friday’s games were not available by press time Saturday.
The Liberty squads will host Windsor Forest starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. They host New Hampstead at 5 p.m. Friday and play at Wayne County at 6 p.m. Saturday to wrap up the regular season.
FPCA
The Highlander boys’ basketball team went 2-1 this past week. FPCA beat David Emanuel Academy 61-40 Tuesday in region 2-AA action. The Highlanders lost 82-79 to Bethesda in a non-region contest between bitter rivals Thursday. And the Highlanders beat Twiggs Academy 94-36 in a region contest Friday. All three games were at their home court, the St. James Sports Center.
Tuesday night, Highlander George Mitchell scorched the scoreboard draining 28 points, including three treys against DEA. Isaiah Scott netted 14 points.
Thursday, it was a small crowd, but the energy was palpable as the Bethesda Blazers and Highlanders went head to head. These two teams have developed an intense rivalry from the earlier years when they were region opponents and fought for the state crown.
The game was played at breakneck speed, with FPCA up 18-17 in the first and the teams tied 38-38 at the half.
But in the third quarter, the Blazers scored 26 to the Highlanders’ 18 to gain the lead off the hot hands of Bethesda’s Avery Joyner, who sank nine in the quarter. The Highlanders fought back furiously in the fourth, outscoring the Blazers 23-18, but it was not enough to erase the Blazers’ advantage.
It was Highlander Khalyn Weekley staging the fourth quarter comeback, draining all nine of his points from the three-point range. George Mitchell kept FPCA in the halftime challenge, as he drained three consecutive treys before the close of the half to go with his one 3 in the first quarter. He also sank a 3-pointer in the final quarter of play. Mitchell ended the night with 18 points. Scott led in points with 21 and was 7 of 9 at the line.
Trayvon Harris had 19 points, including three 3s. Simon Steel sank a trey to start the third quarter.
Friday, FPCA ran away with the 94-36 win in grand fashion. The Highlanders had six players score in double digits.
Weekley led with 16, Scott added 14 and Harris netted 12. Jimmy Ouyang scored 11, Mitchell and John Killough each scored 10.
FPCA is 11-3 and 7-0 in GISA Region 2-AA. The Highlanders were set to host Royal Live Oak Academy on Saturday. They host Robert Toombs starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.