BROOKLET — The Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets led by 11 at halftime, but Screven County (17-7, 9-4 Region 3-AA) out-scored SEB 18-4 in the third quarter and hung on for a 62-57 region win Friday night.
The Jackets had their way under the basket throughout the first half, with James Scott and Chris Rogers combining for 19 points from the post before the break. SEB took a 39-28 lead into the locker room.
Screven took away the middle in the third, and SEB had trouble moving the game outside. The Gamecocks held leading Southeast Bulloch scorer Tony Raymond to just seven points on the night.
“We went to a 2-3 (zone defense in the third),” said Screven coach Arthur Davis, “and tried to crowd that middle. We respect Tony Raymond. When he gets it we’ve got to have a hand in his face. Some of the other ones — we were a little slow to get out there on them. We tried to just clog that middle up and get a hand on Tony Raymond’s shot.”
The Yellow Jackets held the lead throughout the entire first half, but Screven exploded on a 13-2 run to start the third quarter, and Dajuwan Carter tied the game at 41 with a lay-in with 3:46 left in the third.
The lead changed hands nine times from that point on. Fabolous Mills (16 points including four 3-pointers) took care of the outside shooting, while Jamez Colbert (17 points) got the job done underneath.
“In the first half, we took a lot of outside shots, and that’s what they wanted us to do,” said Davis. “Once we settled down and started playing Gamecock basketball, we were able to get the ball inside a little bit and get some easy scoring opportunities.”
A Carter basket with 2:29 to go in the game put Screven up for good, and Mills sealed the deal with a 3 that put SCHS up 61-56 with 45.6 seconds to go.
James Scott brought SEB (10-14, 4-10) within four with a foul shot on the next Jacket possession, but Screven started playing keep-away to run out the clock.
The Jackets had only committed two fouls up to that point, and it took five straight before Screven finally went to the line with just 15 seconds left. Colbert sank a free throw that put SCHS up 62-57. The five-point deficit proved too much as a Raymond 3-point attempt bounced off the rim and went out of bounds behind the backboard with 6.9 ticks left on the clock, giving the ball back to Screven for good.
Carter and Bennie Washington joined Mills and Colbert in double digits with 10 and 11 points respectively, and Rogers led SEB with 20. Scott added 16 for the Jackets.
Screven has a makeup game against the top team in the region tonight. They travel to Augusta to take on Josey.
“Any time you go to Augusta, it’s going to be tough,” said Davis. “We just play our game and do what we need to do. We should be okay. Josey’s a good team, and they’re number one (in the region) right now. Regardless of what happens (tonight), they’ll still be number one. But we’re going to go up there and give them our best shot.”
Lady Gamecocks 44, Lady Yellow Jackets 17
Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, the Screven County Lady Gamecocks saw eight different players score in a dominating 44-17 win over the Southeast Bulloch Lady Yellow Jackets Friday night in Brooklet. With a makeup-game today at Josey, the Gamecocks (18-6, 10-3 Region 3-AA) wanted to get everyone some rest.
“I wanted to try to keep them fresh,” said Lady Gamecock coach Roy Cooper. “Hopefully everybody got a little playing time. I don’t want to get them too burned out, because we have to play back-to-back.”
The Jackets trailed 8-3 after a hard-fought first quarter, but Screven started the second on an 8-0 run. Southeast Bulloch (4-18, 1-10) was held scoreless in the second until Crystal Mikell sank a 3-pointer 6:46 into the period. Mikell sank another bucket in the final minute of the frame after a steal. She led SEB with seven points.
Leanna Mills led Screven with 12 points and eight rebounds and Bria Lonon added nine.
The Jackets’ only points of the third came on a Kacey Jones 3, and Southeast trailed 30-11 heading into the final frame.
That was when Cooper cleared his bench to rest up for tonight’s contest against the Lady Eagles.
“We haven’t played (Josey) in almost a month and a half,” Cooper said. “I don’t really know what they’re doing now. I know that they’re playing better than they were earlier in the season. I just want to go up there and I want our girls to play well.”
Screven County dominated underneath, out-rebounding the Jackets 36-19. The Gamecocks shot 41.6 percent from the floor, while the Jackets only made seven of their 39 attempts.
Southeast Bulloch returns to action in the GHSA Region 3-AA tournament at Jefferson County next week.
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.
The Jackets had their way under the basket throughout the first half, with James Scott and Chris Rogers combining for 19 points from the post before the break. SEB took a 39-28 lead into the locker room.
Screven took away the middle in the third, and SEB had trouble moving the game outside. The Gamecocks held leading Southeast Bulloch scorer Tony Raymond to just seven points on the night.
“We went to a 2-3 (zone defense in the third),” said Screven coach Arthur Davis, “and tried to crowd that middle. We respect Tony Raymond. When he gets it we’ve got to have a hand in his face. Some of the other ones — we were a little slow to get out there on them. We tried to just clog that middle up and get a hand on Tony Raymond’s shot.”
The Yellow Jackets held the lead throughout the entire first half, but Screven exploded on a 13-2 run to start the third quarter, and Dajuwan Carter tied the game at 41 with a lay-in with 3:46 left in the third.
The lead changed hands nine times from that point on. Fabolous Mills (16 points including four 3-pointers) took care of the outside shooting, while Jamez Colbert (17 points) got the job done underneath.
“In the first half, we took a lot of outside shots, and that’s what they wanted us to do,” said Davis. “Once we settled down and started playing Gamecock basketball, we were able to get the ball inside a little bit and get some easy scoring opportunities.”
A Carter basket with 2:29 to go in the game put Screven up for good, and Mills sealed the deal with a 3 that put SCHS up 61-56 with 45.6 seconds to go.
James Scott brought SEB (10-14, 4-10) within four with a foul shot on the next Jacket possession, but Screven started playing keep-away to run out the clock.
The Jackets had only committed two fouls up to that point, and it took five straight before Screven finally went to the line with just 15 seconds left. Colbert sank a free throw that put SCHS up 62-57. The five-point deficit proved too much as a Raymond 3-point attempt bounced off the rim and went out of bounds behind the backboard with 6.9 ticks left on the clock, giving the ball back to Screven for good.
Carter and Bennie Washington joined Mills and Colbert in double digits with 10 and 11 points respectively, and Rogers led SEB with 20. Scott added 16 for the Jackets.
Screven has a makeup game against the top team in the region tonight. They travel to Augusta to take on Josey.
“Any time you go to Augusta, it’s going to be tough,” said Davis. “We just play our game and do what we need to do. We should be okay. Josey’s a good team, and they’re number one (in the region) right now. Regardless of what happens (tonight), they’ll still be number one. But we’re going to go up there and give them our best shot.”
Lady Gamecocks 44, Lady Yellow Jackets 17
Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, the Screven County Lady Gamecocks saw eight different players score in a dominating 44-17 win over the Southeast Bulloch Lady Yellow Jackets Friday night in Brooklet. With a makeup-game today at Josey, the Gamecocks (18-6, 10-3 Region 3-AA) wanted to get everyone some rest.
“I wanted to try to keep them fresh,” said Lady Gamecock coach Roy Cooper. “Hopefully everybody got a little playing time. I don’t want to get them too burned out, because we have to play back-to-back.”
The Jackets trailed 8-3 after a hard-fought first quarter, but Screven started the second on an 8-0 run. Southeast Bulloch (4-18, 1-10) was held scoreless in the second until Crystal Mikell sank a 3-pointer 6:46 into the period. Mikell sank another bucket in the final minute of the frame after a steal. She led SEB with seven points.
Leanna Mills led Screven with 12 points and eight rebounds and Bria Lonon added nine.
The Jackets’ only points of the third came on a Kacey Jones 3, and Southeast trailed 30-11 heading into the final frame.
That was when Cooper cleared his bench to rest up for tonight’s contest against the Lady Eagles.
“We haven’t played (Josey) in almost a month and a half,” Cooper said. “I don’t really know what they’re doing now. I know that they’re playing better than they were earlier in the season. I just want to go up there and I want our girls to play well.”
Screven County dominated underneath, out-rebounding the Jackets 36-19. The Gamecocks shot 41.6 percent from the floor, while the Jackets only made seven of their 39 attempts.
Southeast Bulloch returns to action in the GHSA Region 3-AA tournament at Jefferson County next week.
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.
