It was a bruising, physical game of street ball with bodies flying on the floor, against the walls and in the stands. A total of 43 fouls were called in the controlled affray but Bulloch Academy fought its way to a 66-47 victory over Memorial Day School.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said BA head coach Chandler Dennard. “But as Erk Russell used to say, ‘We scored more than they did.’ ”
In the opener, the Lady Gators finished what they had started on Jan. 5, waltzing their way to a 44-24 victory over the Lady Matadors.
In the finale, senior Gator forward Wil Hall netted a game-high 17 points while junior guard Will Powell added 12 and junior forward Jordan Walker chipped in 10.
The Gators (6-8 overall and 3-0 in Region 2-AA) took a slim lead in the first quarter when Dennard angrily pulled his starters in favor of his bench players.
“We missed a lot of easy shots, especially in the first quarter,” he said.
The second five held their own for the remainder of the quarter. In the second, the starters held a four-point lead throughout most of the eight minutes on the tenacious Matadors (2-12, 0-3). But then, the BA starters began to slowly pull away from Memorial.
“Our defense kept us in the game until we could get things going offensively,” said Dennard. “We got a lot of good minutes for a lot of guys.”
Freshman forward Paul Son had a three-point play with 2:48 left in the half to give BA a 21-12 lead, then Powell zipped the net on two free-throw attempts for Bulloch’s first double-digit lead of the night, 23-12. Son and senior forward James Conner added eight points each.
It was Bulloch’s ability to hit from the charity stripe which helped the Gators build the lead. BA hit 12 of 17 from the line in the first half to take a 28-16 halftime advantage. For the game, Bulloch hit 28 of 44 free-throw attempts.
“Our big guys took the ball to the hole,” said Dennard. “They got fouled and wound up on the line a lot.”
Bulloch continued to steadily increase its lead in the third and hit a 20-point spread, 43-23, at the 3:19 mark of the third. Dennard substituted freely down the stretch.
Daniel Hancock and A.J. Welch had 13 points each for Memorial.
The earlier girls’ game was the continuation of the BA-MDA suspended game on Jan. 5. The contest was suspended at the 3:18 mark of the second quarter due to unsafe conditions on the Bulloch court. The high humidity had caused the floor to ‘sweat’ and become slick in some places. The officiating crew rightly stopped the contest.
Friday night’s game picked up right were it had left off and so did the Lady Gators.
Leading 26-11 when play resumed, the Bulloch girls (8-8, 2-1) seemed as if they had never missed a beat. They outpointed the Lady Matadors (2-12, 0-3) 24-13 over the remainder of the game for the victory.
Sophomore forward Addie Reddick led the Lady Gators with nine points while senior guard Kacie Lanier had seven and sophomore forward Kaylee Lanier added six. Memorial’s cat-quick guard Kristen Smith led all scorers with 14 points.
Bulloch hosts non-region foe Pinewood Christian Academy today. B-team games begin at 4 p.m. with varsity squads beginning at 6:30 p.m.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said BA head coach Chandler Dennard. “But as Erk Russell used to say, ‘We scored more than they did.’ ”
In the opener, the Lady Gators finished what they had started on Jan. 5, waltzing their way to a 44-24 victory over the Lady Matadors.
In the finale, senior Gator forward Wil Hall netted a game-high 17 points while junior guard Will Powell added 12 and junior forward Jordan Walker chipped in 10.
The Gators (6-8 overall and 3-0 in Region 2-AA) took a slim lead in the first quarter when Dennard angrily pulled his starters in favor of his bench players.
“We missed a lot of easy shots, especially in the first quarter,” he said.
The second five held their own for the remainder of the quarter. In the second, the starters held a four-point lead throughout most of the eight minutes on the tenacious Matadors (2-12, 0-3). But then, the BA starters began to slowly pull away from Memorial.
“Our defense kept us in the game until we could get things going offensively,” said Dennard. “We got a lot of good minutes for a lot of guys.”
Freshman forward Paul Son had a three-point play with 2:48 left in the half to give BA a 21-12 lead, then Powell zipped the net on two free-throw attempts for Bulloch’s first double-digit lead of the night, 23-12. Son and senior forward James Conner added eight points each.
It was Bulloch’s ability to hit from the charity stripe which helped the Gators build the lead. BA hit 12 of 17 from the line in the first half to take a 28-16 halftime advantage. For the game, Bulloch hit 28 of 44 free-throw attempts.
“Our big guys took the ball to the hole,” said Dennard. “They got fouled and wound up on the line a lot.”
Bulloch continued to steadily increase its lead in the third and hit a 20-point spread, 43-23, at the 3:19 mark of the third. Dennard substituted freely down the stretch.
Daniel Hancock and A.J. Welch had 13 points each for Memorial.
The earlier girls’ game was the continuation of the BA-MDA suspended game on Jan. 5. The contest was suspended at the 3:18 mark of the second quarter due to unsafe conditions on the Bulloch court. The high humidity had caused the floor to ‘sweat’ and become slick in some places. The officiating crew rightly stopped the contest.
Friday night’s game picked up right were it had left off and so did the Lady Gators.
Leading 26-11 when play resumed, the Bulloch girls (8-8, 2-1) seemed as if they had never missed a beat. They outpointed the Lady Matadors (2-12, 0-3) 24-13 over the remainder of the game for the victory.
Sophomore forward Addie Reddick led the Lady Gators with nine points while senior guard Kacie Lanier had seven and sophomore forward Kaylee Lanier added six. Memorial’s cat-quick guard Kristen Smith led all scorers with 14 points.
Bulloch hosts non-region foe Pinewood Christian Academy today. B-team games begin at 4 p.m. with varsity squads beginning at 6:30 p.m.
