Four Bulloch Academy boys scored in double figures as the Gators used a fourth-quarter rally to down Curtis Baptist 65-53 Friday night.
    Themba Twala pumped in 18 points while Smith Reeves, Forest Spence and Ross Rainey scored 12 points each in the non-region win. The Crusaders, from Augusta, had a 41-40 lead early in the fourth quarter.
    In the earlier girls’ game, the Lady Gators outscored CBS 24-5 in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 73-35 victory. Anna Newton netted a game-high 21 points, Ashley Burke had 16 and Chelsea Oglesby added 10.
    In the finale, the Crusaders (4-7) looked poised for the upset as they took the early fourth-quarter lead. The squads exchanged free throws as the lead flip-flopped. But Spence and Rainey fearlessly drove the lane in traffic for layups and Twala had a couple putbacks, giving Bulloch a 52-43 lead with 5:08 left.
    Bulloch (5-0) also sank 15 of 21 free throws in the quarter to stretch the lead.
    In the first quarter, the Gators went off on the Crusaders, taking a 21-9 lead at the end of the eight minutes. Twala dominated the middle while Reeves, Bill Sheppard and Will Rushing combined to support the big senior from Germany. He and Reeves had six each in the quarter while Sheppard added four.
    But Curtis battled back in the second quarter.
    BA turnovers and good Curtis defense enabled the Crusaders to make up ground on the Gators. Brian Wilson had six of his game-high 19 in the second. He canned two free throws with 2:40 left to cut the Bulloch lead to three, 24-21. But Bulloch was able to increase the margin to 28-21 by intermission.
    CBS outpointed Bulloch 15-12 in a wild third quarter which resembled more of a frenzied street-ball game. McKai Ray led Curtis as the Crusaders pulled to within one, 34-33, with 2:30 left. But Rainey and Reeves nailed four from the charity stripe to put BA in front 38-33. Wilson canned a three-pointer to keep the Crusaders close and the Gators clung to a 40-38 lead when the horn sounded.
    In the girls’ game, the Lady Gators garnered their 10th consecutive victory in very convincing fashion behind Newton, Burke, a good press and a better defense.
    Bulloch looked like a well-oiled machine as they scampered up and down the floor against the 2-8 Lady Crusaders.
    Newton was money from the left elbow of the free-throw line, canning six shots in the first quarter. Burke was monkey quick, plucking the ball from the hands of the CB players and turning into scores. She was also not afraid to mix it up in the middle and added eight points in the first eight minutes.
    Pate Lomax was the workhorse under the basket, crashing the boards and coming up with offensive and defensive rebounds. Lauren Dennard, Marianna Peebles and Mary Margaret Reeves helped keep the machine going.
    Newton nor Burke started in the second quarter as BA head coach Paul Webb substituted at will. The Lady Gators took a 42-16 halftime lead.
    In the second half, the long ball was the weapon of choice as the BA ladies connected with five as they outscored Curtis 31-19 for the win.
    Oglesby hit both two free throws late in the third quarter to give Bulloch a 30-point lead, 51-21. In the shortened fourth quarter, German exchange student Mimi Rasenberger pushed in a layup at the 1:51 mark to push the Lady Gators over the 70-point mark.
    Leading the scoring for the Lady Crusaders was the spunky Alyssa Spurlock, who scored 16, and jump-shot artist Lissa Robinson, who added 14.
    In the first game of the afternoon, the Bulloch B-team girls pounded the Crusaders 50-5.
    Rasenberger led the way with 15 points, Mikay Sands added 12 and Destiny Burke had 10.
    The Bulloch varsity squads travel to St. Simons Island today to take on Frederica Academy in a pair of early afternoon games.