Over 340 high school basketball games across the state of Georgia were played Monday night, including games featuring Portal, Southeast Bulloch and Statesboro High School.
    Statesboro played host in Day 2 of the Sack Gentleman’s Classic, facing a tough Monroe squad while Southeast Bulloch, also playing in the Gentleman’s Classic, went up against Liberty County.
    At Portal, the Lady Panthers were in action for Day 1 of Portal’s Holiday Classic against Jefferson County.
    With so many games going on across the state, here’s a quick look of Monday’s Bulloch County games.

Defensive Battle at SHS
    With two solid defensive teams going at it in Day 2 of the Sack Gentleman’s Classic, the Blue Devils came out on top in a close game, 47-46.
    Points were at a premium and Statesboro missed their fair share of opportunities on the free throw line early. However, Statesboro sunk a couple of clutch free throws late to defeat a team that previously lost just three games.
    Cameron Harvey led the way for Statesboro (9-4, 2-2 Region 3-AAAAA), scoring a team-high 13 points. Coming off a four-point performance against Jenkins County, Jaylan Patrick had a big night from beyond the arc, scoring 12 points. Michael Salomon finished the game with 11 points.
    “I thought that we (improved) from where we have been because we were losing those close games. I think by playing in those tight games we had a bit more composure down the wire,” said Statesboro basketball coach Lee Hill. “We missed some early free throws but then we came back and some of the guys stepped up. The defense was there most of the night.”
    Monday night was a defensive battle for both teams. At halftime, Statesboro and Monroe were tied at 18-18.
    In the third quarter, the offensive play picked up. Monroe (7-4, 6-0 Region 1-AAAA) began to pull away going on a 9-3 run at the 2:20 mark. The Tornadoes led by as many as eight points in the third.
    “I told them we had to be patient and chip away at the lead. We didn’t turn the ball over much against their press,” Hill said. “We couldn’t get it all back at one time. We had to make some shots and we had to score.”
    In the fourth quarter, Statesboro took a 44-41 lead with 2:21 left to play in the game thanks to a Salomon mid-range jumper. It was Statesboro’s first lead of the game since SHS went up 22-21 early in the third quarter.
    The Blue Devils traded possessions with Monroe, but it was the free throw line that would be the difference maker in the game. Salomon was fouled on a rebound after a missed free throw from the Tornadoes. Salomon made his first free-throw shot but missed the second to give the Blue Devils a 46-43 lead with 17 seconds left in the game.
    Marcus Kirkland, who scored four points Monday night, hit another free-throw late to ice the game. A last-second Monroe three-point shot wouldn’t be enough to defeat Statesboro.
    The Blue Devils will face Southeast Bulloch tomorrow at 8 p.m.
   
Portal Drops One
    In the days leading up to Portal’s first game of the Holiday Classic, head coach Cliff Hubbard stressed to his team the importance of being able to handle man-to-man defense.
    “We have put the kids in a position where they feel comfortable,” said Hubbard. “We’ve had a lot of practice with ball handling and handling man-to-man defense. It was just one of those nights where we couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
    Against a strong Jefferson County team, the Lady Panthers weren’t able to match up losing 56-18 to drop the team’s overall record to 3-6 on the year.
    The Lady Panthers held Jefferson County to just 14 first-half points, but the Warriors stormed out of the third quarter scoring 29 points.
    “Every game is going to be a challenge,” said Hubbard about the teams the Lady Panthers will face in the Holiday Classic. “Long County and Bryan County are double-A schools. On paper, they should be better than us. But I think we’ll be fine.”
    The Lady Panthers will face Long County today at 5:30 p.m.

SEB Falls to Liberty
    Against one of the toughest teams in AAAA basketball, the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets had their hands full against Liberty County.
    The Panthers (7-1) started the game on a 22-6 run to defeat SEB 72-43. The Yellow Jackets had trouble on the defensive glass, making it tough to slow down the Panthers’ potent offense.
    Aaron Houston led the way for SEB, scoring 15 points in the game. Markel Ming, Caleb Carter and Joseph Anderson all finished with six points.
    The Yellow Jackets (7-6, 2-2 Region 1-AAA) will take on Statesboro in the final game of the Gentleman’s Classic tonight at 8 p.m.