The Bulloch Academy boys took the driver’s seat in GISA Region 2-AA and also sent a message to other Class AA schools with a 102-68 drubbing of region foe Frederica Academy Saturday night.
    Senior Darion Carter netted a career-high 35 points as he led the high-flying Gators to their highest point total in recent history, if not in the history of Bulloch Academy basketball.
    The Gators (14-7 overall and 6-1 in region play) looked like a seasoned squad which had played together for years with precision passing, alley-oops and tip-in baskets. We had guys who were unselfishly sharing the basketball, looking for the open man. We just did a good job tonight.”
    “That’s what good fastbreak basketball is supposed to look like,” said BA head coach Chandler Dennard. “We generated a lot of steals tonight and also forced Frederica to take some bad shots. Our guys would kick the ball out and get a favorable break, like two-on-one or three-on-one.”
    Bulloch and Frederica were tied in the region standings because the Knights defeated the Gators by a bucket, 65-63, on Jan. 11. But the Gators couldn’t wait to take Frederica to the woodshed.
    The Gator fans, students and parents alike, were dressed in specially-made black t-shirts for what was deemed ‘Blackout 08’ and fired up the Gator guys in standing-room only gymnasium.
    Frederica (16-4, 5-2) took a 17-15 lead by the end of the first quarter. FA big man Anthony Votsis ruled the paint and quick guards Antonio Wright and Jarvis Woods caused havoc for BA ballhandlers. The Knight trio had the Gators perplexed. Wright led Frederica with 20 points and Woods had 17.
    But BA’s confusion didn’t last.
    Bulloch went on a 33-point ramage in the second quarter and took a comfortable 48-34 halftime lead. Senior Mark Rocker had a putback at the 7:19 mark which gave Bulloch a 19-18 lead and the Gators never looked back. BA went up by three, then five, then seven, then nine as Dennard’s combinations on the court worked well.
    Sophomore Paul Son had eight of his 16 points in the second and senior Jordan Walker notched six of his 14. But it was Carter who stole the show with his smooth athleticism, skying high for rebounds, banking in short shots, finger rolling layups and zinging the nets on mid-range jumpers.
    Even though he netted 35 on the night, he was still unselfish as he shared the wealth with his teammates. The Gators took a 38-25 with 3:09 left when Carter dazzled the crowd with a behind-the-back pass to Son for an easy layup for the sophomore. The Gators used a vicious press and showed their superb conditioning in the second with the 33-point quarter.
    In the third, Frederica chipped away at the Gator lead but Carter and Son dominated the paint. Guards Taylor Burke, Arne Bencker and Will Powell also contributed well. Powell had eight on the night, Bencker added six while Burke had five as Bulloch took a 71-49 advantage.
    In the fourth, two Carter dunks, one which rattled the backboard and jacked up the capacity BA crowd, paced a 31-point fourth quarter.
    Bulloch will be back in action Friday when they travel to Dublin to battle Region foe Trinity Christian School.
    “We have to beat Trinity to get the top-seeded for the region tournament,” Dennard said of his defending region champions. “If we don’t, because we split with Frederica, we’ll have to get into tiebreaker situations.”

Lady Gators 56, Lady Knights 31
    The Lady Gators cranked up the ‘Blackout’ by coming out in black shooting shirts to AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black.’
    And they gave the Lady Knights two back eyes.
    Senior Abi Foy scored 14 points while junior Addie Reddick added 11 in the rout. Reddick, who has become the team’s three-point princess of late, pounded three first-quarter treys to help the Lady Gators (12-10, 5-1) pull out to a 19-10 lead by the end of the first quarter.
    A tough backcourt trap created FA turnovers and gave Bulloch easy transition baskets. Also, junior forward Kaylee Lanier battled hard in the paint to help her team succeed. Lanier had eight points on the night.
Anna Day helped Frederica cut the BA lead to three, 22-19, midway through the quarter. Day led Frederica with 13 points. But Bulloch went on a late run for a 26-19 halftime lead.
    The third quarter was quiet for Bulloch as Frederica (9-11, 2-5) held its own early but the Lady Gators outpointed FA 9-2 for an overwhelming 35-21 advantage.
    A 21-point fourth quarter sealed the deal for Bulloch as the girls hit 13-of-15 freethrows for the win.
        
BA 34, FA 17 (JV girls)
    Taylor Collins netted a game-high 11 points to lead the Bulloch Academy junior varsity girls to its 10th win of the season.
    BA (10-2) outscored the Lady Knights 14-3 in the opening quarter and 10-3 in the second for a comfortable 24-6 halftime lead.

Frederica 30, BA 20 (JV boys)
    Bulloch erased an 11-point deficit in the third quarter but couldn’t quite get the victory against the taller Knights.
    Down 18-7 at halftime, the Gators (4-8) outscored Frederica 11-3 in the third quarter to cut the FA lead to 20-18 at the end of the eight minutes. Bulloch’s Forest Spence nailed two three-pointers in the quarter. Spence and Jordan Herrington had eight points each for BA.
    But the Knights held firm in the fourth for the victory.