STATESBORO – The Bulloch Academy Gators defeated the Claxton Tigers in a double-header at home Thursday night. The Lady Gators dominated in a 67-38 win, and the Gators beat the Tigers in a 47-46 nail biting win.
The Girls Showed No Mercy
Since it was senior night, the Lady Gators were trying to show up and show out and they did just that. It was a team effort from the Lady Gators.
The game started out fast-paced with the Tigers, but the Lady Gators came out the gate swinging. Lady Tigers sophomore point guard, Jayda Jordan, had 26 of her team’s 38 points on the night. She had a tough performance as she tried to will her team to stay in the game. She was able to maneuver through the Lady Gators press break at certain points to score, but overall the Lady Gators were able to use their 2-2-1 press that most can tell have evolved over the course of the season. The Lady Gators had some huge stops and turnovers that allowed them to capitalize on their win and extend the score even further apart.
Head coach Chandler Dennard was happy with his team’s performance and their overall countenance. He talked about the impact his seniors, Brylie Ray and Ashantay Noble have had on the team.
“The one thing about both of those girls, especially being seniors, these girls are leaders,” Dennard said. “They’re the hardest working girls I have at practice and when your two seniors are the hardest working people, it’s hard for your underclassman to kind of slack off. Those two girls do a great job of holding everybody accountable and that’s because they hold themselves accountable.”
The leading scorer for the Lady Gators was senior Ashantay Noble with 21 points. Following her was Kaley Cardell with 13 points, senior Brylie Ray and Rylie Ann Claxton with six points, Mckenna Furnari and Maralyne Belcher with five points, Zariah Major with three points, and Adlyee Davis, Emme Powell and Brynnley Ryan all adding two points to the scoreboard.
The Boys Kept It Close, Pulled Out The Win
The boys had to fight hard for their win. The Claxton Tigers kept the game close by being physical and aggressive on the ball the entire match up. The Tigers came out swinging and the Gators had to adjust quickly. Freshman Sam Hubbard was the first Gator to puts points on the board. Senior Ben Aaron shot 100 percent from the free throw line and free throw shooting is what kept the Gators afloat in the match up.
Head coach Zachary Phillips was happy that his team pulled out the win overall, but knows that in order for them to have a good playoff run, his team is going to have to sustain a whole game playing hard from start to finish.
“Well we did well, got away with a win,” Phillips said. “We got through adversity playing a slow first half and things didn’t go well, calls didn’t go our way, injuries, foul trouble, but we battled through and got the win, so it’s always nice to win.”
The leading scorer for the Gators was junior Jackson Shappard with 17 points on the night. He was followed by senior Ben Aaron with 11 points, Shemar Jenkins with six points, Sam Hubbard with four points, senior Will Ellis with three points, Ike Hubbard, Keonte Mayner and JB Roach all with two points on the scoreboard.
Up Next
The Bulloch Academy Gators will be back in action Friday as they take on in-town rivals Pinewood Christian Academy at PCA. The girls will tip off at 6 p.m. and the boys will follow shortly after at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available on the GoFan Website.
