Short-Handed Gators outlast the Dragons
It is no mystery that Bulloch Academy's boys basketball team is comprised of several multi-sport athletes. With the football team preparing for the state championship game, Head Coach Zachary Brackett had to open the season with only 6 players. Brackett had to call up some 8th graders to join the team.
The game came down to the wire, and timely buckets by the Gators were able to help them win the game 56-51 against the Statesboro STEAM Dragons. Jackson Sheppard did what you ask seniors to do and led his team to a win as he finished with 37 points.
BA entered the 4th quarter with a 10 point lead. After having played mostly the entire game with minimal breaks, it was clear that the players were fatigued. The Dragons opened the quarter with a 7-0 run to trim the lead to 3 with a little under 6 minutes left in the game. Sheppard had the ball on the right wing when the Dragons sent a trap to get the ball out of his hands. A skip pass to the opposite side of the floor led to the ball ending up in the hands of Luke Jackson. Jackson let the corner 3 fly and it touched nothing but the net. Sheppard turned to the opposing fans and held his head in shock as he got back on defense.
Minutes later, the Gators found themselves up 3 with under 2 minutes remaining. Hunter Blackmon secured a defensive rebound and advanced the ball down the court. Blackmon proceeded to drive through the defense and finish a tough layup to put the Gators up 5 with under a minute left in the game. Another score by Sheppard put the finishing touches on the battle.
STEAM came out with the strategy to speed up the Gators and make them use as much energy as possible with a full court press. They also tried to trap and double team Sheppard to keep the ball out of his hands. In the opening period, Sheppard could not be stopped as he scored 14 points in the 1st. The Dragons began to send different bodies at him to slow him down and keep someone fresh as his defender.
Despite being without over half of the team, the Gators were able to pull out this victory. Coach Brackett spoke on what this win said about his team.
"They knew they had to play 32 minutes and we had two 8th graders that haven't practiced with us much," Brackett said. "They came in here and played hard. It was sloppy, but they played hard and we got the win."
Up Next:
The Bulloch Academy boys are scheduled to face the Savannah Day Country Hornets on Tuesday, November 26th as part of some Thanksgiving break hoops. The game is set to tip at 2:30pm.
Lady Gators open the Lefebvre Era with a blowout victory
The Lady Gators and the STEAM Dragons opened up Monday's doubleheader. Bulloch Academy came out red hot and didn't look back on the way to their 57-29 win.
Senior Kaley Cardell and Junior Johnnie Nutting led the way in Monday's win. Nutting finished with 19 points as Cardell had 13 of her own.
A big 1st quarter was the story of the game as the Gators outscored the Dragons 26-6. The size of Bulloch Academy proved to be an issue for STEAM. McKenna Furnari and Nutting controlled the paint on both ends of the floor.The pressure that BA put on the ball forced turnovers and bad shots. Once the Gators got the rebound, it was a track meet. There were several plays where Cardell would show off her arm with a softball pass to a streaking Nutting for a layup.
It was a pretty balanced scoring attack for the Gators. Everyone that checked into the game scored. Furnari finished with 7 points, Rylie Ann Claxton and Maralyne Belcher scored 6 each, Brantly Claxton scored 4 and Blakely Wright scored 2.
Monday's game was the first of many with new Head Coach Mark Lefebvre. Lefebvre spoke on what it meant to win his first game.
"It was exciting, the girls are great bunch of girls," Lefebvre said. "We played with good effort and I hope we can continue that as the year goes forward."
Up Next:
The Bulloch Academy girls are scheduled to face the Stratford Academy Eagles on Friday, November 22nd. The game is set to tip off at 6:00pm.
