Now that the regular season is over, high school basketball teams prepare for the region tournament with hopes of advancing to the state tournament.
The Bradwell Institute boys are the first team already out of region play. The Tigers’ season ended Monday in the Region 2-AAAAAA tournament with a 53-50 loss to Effingham County.
They fought hard in the first half and went into halftime down by only 1.
Effingham took over in the third quarter outscoring the Tigers 19-16 and was able to hold on to the lead in the fourth.
Bradwell finished the year 11-12 on the season with a 2-7 record in region play.
Effingham County now takes on No. 1 seed Richmond Hill in the 2-AAAAAA tournament semifinal.
The winner will compete against the winner of the other semifinal game between Glynn Academy and Brunswick. Both semifinal games will take place at Richmond Hill.
Lady Tigers
The Bradwell girls look forward to their match tonight against Glynn Academy in the girls 2-AAAAAA tournament semifinals while No. 1 Brunswick plays Richmond Hill.
Lady Tigers coach Faye Baker says the team has been watching film on their opponents and hope to win tonight to advance to the championship game on Friday and secure a first round state playoff game at home.
Lady Panthers
Both Liberty County High School teams are gearing up for their own region basketball tournament as well.
The Lady Panthers finished third in the region with a 5-5 region record, and will take on Appling County in the Region 2-AAA Tournament.
A victory would send them to the semifinals against Pierce County. Long County and Brantley County will face off as well, and the winner will continue to the semifinals versus No. 1 Tattnall County.
And finally, the Panthers continue their quest to repeat as state champions. It starts with the Region 2-AAA Tournament. As the No. 1 seed with a 9-1 record in the region, Liberty County will face the winner of Appling County vs. Brantley County on Thursday, while the winner of Tattnall County vs. Pierce County takes on No. 2 seed Long County.
Both Region 2-AAA boys and girls tournaments will be played at Tattnall County High, with the championship games set for Friday.
Long County
The Region 2-AAA Basketball Tournament kicked off Tuesday.
This year, the region boys standings had Liberty County finish on top with a 9-1 record. Long County was No. 2 with a 6-4 mark. Other teams rounding out seeds three through six had Tattnall County at 6-4, Appling County at 4-6, Brantley County at 3-7 and Pierce County at 2-8.
By securing the second seed, the Blue Tide earned a first round bye in the tourney and locked up a spot in the state tournament.
On the girls side, the top seed was Tattnall County, which went undefeated in region play posting a 10-0 mark. Pierce County was the runner-up, going 8-2. Rounding out the standings were Liberty County at 5-5, Long County at 4-6, Brantley County at 3-7 and Appling County in the cellar going 0-10.
By finishing fourth the Lady Tide faced Brantley County on Tuesday, too late for this story, in Hinesville. When the teams played during the regular season, Long County swept the Lady Herons 60-57 and 62-55. Tuesday’s winner advanced into the semi-finals of the tournament to take on Tattnall County on Thursday. Thursday’s game will begin at 7 p.m. in Reidsville.
With the Blue Tide earning a bye, they won’t play until Thursday at 5:30, taking on the winner of the Tattnall County/Pierce County game. During the regular season, Long County split with both schools, beating Tattnall 75-67 but falling to them 76-66, and beating Pierce County 78-58 but also falling to them 75-73.