Late Game Heroics headline Boys' Win
The Gators won a hard-fought game against Screven County on Thursday with a final score of 55-53.
With the game being tied up and 21 seconds remaining in regulation, BA head coach Zachary Brackett called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Shamar Jenkins had the ball at the top of the key. Jenkins put his head down and got to the basket for an athletic layup while falling to the ground.
The ball rolled in and the gym went wild as the Gamecocks ran down the court to get a last second shot up that didn't fall.
Coach Brackett walked me through the final play. "It wasn't the exact way we designed it," Brackett said. "I knew he could get to the rack whenever he wanted to."
The last 2 minutes were a roller coaster for fans of both teams. The two teams traded the lead back and forth with big bucket after big bucket. In the last minute, Jackson Sheppard hit a straight on 3 to put the Gators up 1 with 28 seconds. Screven's Rodney Beckworth hit a free throw that tied the game and set up the game winner.
The game was close at the end, but it wasn't looking that way the entire game. The Gamecocks went on a big run in the second quarter to go up by double digits. The Gators had to claw back into the game to tie it up going into the 4th. Coach Brackett talked about what allowed them to get back into the game.
"Shoutout to the defense in the second half, it helped that we got them in foul trouble early," Brackett said. "Defense and rebounding is what won us the game in the second half."
The Gators are still getting a groove in the season with a lot of their team joining due to the end of the football season. Brackett said that they are still trying to mesh and get some things done,
Jenkins led all scorers with 23 points, Ike Hubbard scored 15, and Jackson Sheppard finished with 13 points. Other contributors were JB Roach, Keonte Maynor, and William Polk.
The Gators are now 2-1 on the season.
Lady Gators fight back in game, but can't come out on top
The story was almost the same in both games with BA having to scrap back into the game. The Lady Gators erased a double-digit lead and took a fourth quarter lead, but couldn't come out with the win as they fell 56-54.
The Lady Gators' final possession saw them not get a shot up to tie the game as the clock expired. Turnovers on back to back possessions spelled the end for the Lady Gators. Kaley Cardell tried to will her team to the win in the 4th quarter with a couple of big baskets and free throws.
BA entered the 4th down 7 points. Cardell hit a big 3 to cut the lead to 4 with 4:40 left in the game. After 4 straight missed free throws by Screven County, Rylie Ann Claxton hit a 3 to draw the Gators even closer. The very next possession, Cardell hit a go-ahead 3 that sent the gym into a frenzy. However, turnovers allowed the Gamecocks to get back in front and win the game.
Head Coach Mark Lefebvre talked about the final possession and how he might have been able to do something different. "I thought that we really played hard to get back in the game," Lefebvre said. "It just comes down to the end we got to make a few plays. Maybe I take a timeout and not let it play, but I'm not really sure if that would have helped us."
The Gators fell behind big in the 2nd quarter. The end of the half dug a deep hole for BA. They were down 5 when Screven's Achanti Middleton scored 8 straight points in the last minute to put her team up by 13 going into halftime.
Coach Lefebvre said that the team is still learning each other, but they found something in the lineup that was on the court during their run.
The Lady Gators now have a 1-1 record on the season.
Up Next:
Bulloch Academy basketball will return to action on Tuesday, December 10th when they go on the road to take on Stratford Academy. The girls will tip off at 6 with the boys starting after its conclusion.
