The Bulloch Academy Gators split a doubleheader with Robert Toombs Tuesday night at Gator Alley. The Lady Gators were able to pull away from the Crusaders in the second half, and won 40-31. The script was flipped in the boys game with Bulloch Academy leading by five early in the third, before Robert Toombls got hot and won 73-52.

The Lady Gators went back and forth with the Lady Crusaders throughout most of the first half, and clung to a three point halftime lead. In the second half the Gators went on a run, thanks in part to some good three point shooting, as they pulled away with a 40-31 victory to remain unbeaten at 4-0 on the season.

“We still have a long way to go,” said Bulloch Academy coach Chandler Dennard. “You can tell we only practiced twice during the Thanksgiving break. For about a quarter and a half we played well, but at some point we need to execute a lot better.”

A low scoring first quarter saw only two players actually hit field goals, as Kacie Ricketts five points and a Regan Ellis free throw, proved to be one more point than the Crusaders Taylor Corsa’s five points.

The pace picked up a little more in the second quarter. Ricketts hit a three pointer, freshman Sophie Strickland added a corner three, and the game was tied at 14-14. Corsa hit a pair of three pointers to give the Crusaders a 17-14 lead, but the Gators answered with another Ricketts three, and an Elis putback at the buzzer to grab a 20-17 halftime lead. 

The Gators opened the second half on fire as Leah Williford and Ricketts hit back-to back three pointers, and the Gators extended their lead to 27-17. Abby Newton returned to the lineup in limited action, but added a three pointer herself, and the Gator lead grew to 37-24. The Gators hit seven three pointers, one more than Corsa hit herself, and went on to win by nine.

“We shot the ball pretty well tonight,” Dennard said. “We still have a long way to go. I told the girls we will not take that many days off during the Christmas break, because we really need to pick things up.”

Ricketts led the Gators with 17 points, while Ellis added nine. Corsa led all scorers with 20 points for the Crusaders.

The Bulloch Academy boys played pretty solid for about two and a half quarters, then the visitors from Robert Toombs found another gear, went on a 19-0 run, and made things look a little worse than it was winning 73-52.

“Turnover killed us tonight,” said Bulloch Academy coach Chase Cofield. “They got easy baskets off of our turnovers, and then added a couple of three pointers, and we were out of it quickly in the second half.”

The two teams went back and forth for most of the first half. It looked as though things would be falling the Crusaders way as early in the game a pass from Justin Walker was deflected by a Gator defender, hit off the backboard, and fell into the basket. Walker added a three moments later, and then M.K. McBride brought the visiting fans off their seats with a one handed slam, for a 12-6 RTCA lead.

The Gators withstood the early storm, and actually fought back to tie the game. Will Aaron cut the lead to two on a layup, RTCA answered, but Miller Pope came up with a rebound, and a putback to once again make it a two point game. Weston Boyd later had a putback himself to tie the game at 16-16 at the end of the first.

It was much of the same in the second quarter as the Crusaders went on a 9-0 run. The Gators answered with a 9-0 run themselves to tie the game at 25-25, with baskets by Bo Spence and Pope leading the charge. The two teams traded baskets in the last minute of the half and were tied 30-30 at halftime.

The Gators actually opened the second half on a 5-0, and led 40-38 before the wheels came off. Robert Toombs went on a 19-0 run in a matter of minutes, keyed by a full court press that gave the Gators fits, and a couple long range three pointers from McBride. The run continued early in the fourth as another McBride dunk extended the lead to 68-44 and capped a 30-4 run.

“I felt like our post play inside was pretty good tonight, but we can’t turn the ball over like we did,” Cofield said. “This was our first game with the football players back. Our goal is to get better by January, there aren;t any championships being won early in December.”

The Crusaders hit 10 three pointers in the game, and were led offensively by McBride with 26 points. Walker added 20 points, while Jashawn Powell had 16 points. The Gators were led by Pope with 13 points, Boyd added 10 points.

The Gators were scheduled to play John Milledge Friday, but John Milledge is playing in the state championship in football, and that game was cancelled. Up next Bulloch Academy will host Westminster next Tuesday, with the girls starting at 6:00.