Screven edges Effingham, 64-63
Screven County point guard Quan White hit both ends of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity with 1:05 remaining to help lift his team to a 64-63 win over Effingham County.
The Gamecocks (2-1) led 49-38 in the third quarter before Effingham used a 15-0 run to take the lead early in the final period.
Screven battled back, however, taking the lead for good on White’s final free throw and then holding Effingham scoreless the rest of the way.
Antrjuan Albright led the Gamecocks with 13 points. Jamez Colbert had 11, Octdravious Lawton added 10 and White contributed eight.
Greg Benton scored a game-high 20 points for Effingham.
Screven hosts Portal on Saturday evening.
Statesboro no match for Beach
Statesboro’s boys basketball team lost to Beach High, 77-34, Tuesday in Savannah.
Jared Houston led the Blue Devils with 16 points, while Justin Houston added nine.
SHS (2-2) hits the hardwood on Friday against Jenkins in Savannah.
Metter wins opener, 43-39
The Metter Tigers got their season off to a winning note with a 43-39 home victory over Claxton (0-1).
Metter’s Dennis Smith and Geoffrey Thurman combined to go 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the game’s final 15 seconds, preserving a win over a scrappy Claxton club.
Karonja Knight led the way for Metter with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Thurman added 12 points, while Terrance Collins snagged seven boards.
Chris Bellamy (12 points) and Mario Jones (11) paced Claxton.
Metter’s next game comes Saturday at Bryan County.
Lady Blue Devils fall
Statesboro’s girls basketball team (3-1) fell to Beach of Savannah on Tuesday, 51-44.
Playing on the road, the Lady Blue Devils’ Monnette Bennett led the team with 19 points. Victoria Mikell scored 11, and Chelsia Connelly added eight.
Khaliah Watson led Beach with 13 points.
The Lady Blue Devils return to the court on Friday when they play at Jenkins of Savannah.
Lady Gamecocks get revenge, 39-30
The sixth-ranked Screven County girls basketball team downed Effingham County 39-30 Tuesday night. The win was especially signficant for the Lady Gamecocks (3-0) since Effingham was responsible for two of Screven’s three losses in the 2005 season.
The Lady Gamecocks jumped out to a 13-4 lead after the first period, never allowing Effingham to close within six points the rest of the way.
Kadedra Evans had a double-double for Screven with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kiki Warren added eight points and four rebounds, while Shaneka Lee chipped in with five boards and five points.
Screven’s next game comes at home against Portal on Saturday.
Lady Tigers prevail, 35-33
Claxton’s girls basketball team got a road win over Metter on Tuesday, 35-33.
Ashley Kennedy scored a game-high 15 points for Claxton, adding 12 rebounds. Teammate India Jones had eight points to go with 16 boards.
Alayana Davis paced Metter with 14 points.
Portal JV tops SEB
The Portal boys junior varsity boys beat Southeast Bulloch 46-36 Tuesday night at Portal. Jordan Hall led PHS with 13 points while Leroy Evans and Chirs Rogers had nine each for SEB,
Eagles get rare win at Mercer
MACON — Junior Louis Graham scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and Georgia Southern won at Mercer for the first time since 2000, holding on for a 61-59 victory over Mercer Monday evening at the University Center.
Graham notched his second double-double of the season by adding a career-high 17 rebounds. He also set new personal-bests with three assists and four steals, and had three blocks.
He was joined in double figures by senior Donte Gennie who totaled 16 points. Junior Dwayne Foreman added a game-high eight assists.
The Eagles tallied 15 steals as a team and forced 20 turnovers.
Mercer’s James Florence led all scorers with 19 points.
“Every time we come over here it’s (close),” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “The game’s important to both teams but they always get up to play us.”
The game was tied for the final time on a trey by Mercer’s Ross Alacqua with 58 seconds left. Both teams had a chance to take the lead on their next possession, but a miss by Florence gave Georgia Southern the ball with 16 seconds left. Gennie converted a tough shot with 14 seconds on the clock and a 3-pointer by Florence at the buzzer failed to draw rim.
Georgia Dome to get face lift
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons gained approval Tuesday to spend $23 million to renovate the state-owned Georgia Dome and raise prices on suites and club seats.
The board of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, which oversees the Dome, approved a series of measures pushed by team owner Arthur Blank that include remodeling the stadium’s suites and club lounge and building eight new 90-seat ‘‘super suites.’’
