U-SAVE-IT CLASSIC: Statesboro, Cedar Grove win early games

ALBANY — The Lee County Trojans could never find their rhythm against the Statesboro Blue Devils and as a result, they fell 55-44 Friday afternoon on the first day of the U-Save-It Christmas Classic at Albany High School.

The game started with a handful of misses from both teams. Lee County wouldn’t get on the board until Chris Barnes checked in and went to work in the post with 4:20 left in the first quarter. He had four of their six points in the opening period and finished with 10 points in the game.

The Trojans continued to struggle on offense and went into the halftime break down 19-12.

Head coach Kervin Davis said he felt his team was getting good looks at the basket and taking shots they would normally take, but they lacked energy. They were also without junior point guard Zee Johnson, which made a big difference.

“My senior point guard is not with me … he’s injured,” Davis said. “He’s normally our energy guy to kinda get us going. Now we’re leaning on a young group of kids to rally together and it’s a little difficult for them right now.”

The Trojans made several runs, but just as they got the lead to 10 points less, they’d commit a shooting foul on the other end. A layup from Jaylin Wimberly with a little over a minute left made it a 47-40 game, but the Blue Devils completed just enough 3-point plays to get the lead out of reach for Lee County.

Wimberly led the team in scoring with 11 points in the loss.

Davis said it wasn’t the start he was hoping for but looks forward to the remainder of the tournament.

“If you don’t bring energy, then everything else is going to fall second,” Davis said. “And it showed. The key to it is how you rebound and come back tomorrow. That’s the beauty of a tournament, to see what kind of character your team has. You lose one, come back tomorrow and see if you can regroup. That’s how you build character. That’s why we do this.”

The Trojans will meet Southeast Bulloch today at 4 p.m.

CEDAR GROVE BOYS 43, MONROE 39: Holding on.

That’s what Cedar Grove had to do against Monroe as the unbeaten Saints improved to 6-0. Cedar Grove entered the game ranked second in Class AAA.

“We were just trying to change the defenses up,” Monroe coach Marquis Davis said. “I thought our guys really played well, with the exception of some turnovers here and there at crucial times. At some points in the game, we could have excelled, but all in all, I’m proud of our guys and the effort they gave us tonight.”

Monroe fell to 3-7 on the season with the loss.

Despite the two teams’ differing fortunes, the game was highly contested until late in the third quarter. A five-point outburst from junior guard Emeshuan Offord pulled the Tornadoes within three. After Julius Nelson drained a 3-pointer, the score was tied with just over two minutes left in regulation.

With a chance to give the Saints the inside track to victory, Cedar Grove players missed six straight free throws after a technical foul with 1:16 left in the game. After junior guard Makale Carter sank a free throw to give the visitors an inch of breathing room with 45 seconds left, Jacari Cross stepped in front of a Monroe pass, finishing the fast break with a dunk that put the Saints ahead for good.

“I don’t think at any point they had control of the game,” Davis said. “It was pretty much a tit-for-tat game, where whoever made the best decisions in the important situations (won). We had two crucial turnovers when we were about three points down, but like I said, I’m not disappointed in our guys, and we’ll just get ready for the next game.”

On paper, the matchup shouldn’t have been in question. Yet, the Saints struggled to make runs in the first half, going into the locker rooms holding a slight 21-18 lead. A strong third quarter from the Tornadoes, however, had the undefeated visitors on the wrong side of a small deficit as the second half began.

However, a 3-pointer from the elbow by Kenneth Lewis gave the Saints an eight-point lead as the final period began.

Offord led the Tornadoes with 16 points to go along with three assists. Jacari Cross led Cedar Grove with 14 points, while Kenneth Lewis added ten points of his own.

The Saints will play Colquitt County today at 2:30 p.m., while Monroe will play Statesboro at 8:30 p.m. tonight.

SOUTHEAST BULLOCH BOYS 78, WESTOVER 64: Westover hung tough but eventually fell to sharpshooting Southeast Bulloch.

Southeast Bulloch built a slight 14-10 lead in the first quarter, but the Patriots would eventually tie it up at 14 after a free throw from Josh Moore. Westover took a slight 17-15 lead before Sheldon Hendrix knocked down a trey to give the lead and the momentum back to the Yellow Jackets.

From there, Southeast Bulloch got hot, particularly Hendrix and senior guard Malik Puckett, who knocked down five 3-pointers in the second quarter alone. Despite the barrage of long-distance baskets by the Jackets in the second, the Patriots were still able to keep themselves in striking distance and were down 39-34 at the halftime break.

The Patriots started the second half alert and energetic and strung together a 6-2 run to start the third, cutting the lead to one with five minutes left in the quarter. Hendrix picked up where he left off in the first, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers. The Yellow Jackets were suddenly back ahead 47-40. Westover wouldn’t go away and entered the final period down 52-50.

The Patriots kept it close, but SEB couldn’t miss in the fourth. They would knock down five threes as a team and put the game away.

Andre Kennedy led the Patriots in scoring 21 points, followed by Alec Williams with 15. Hendrix and Puckett finished with 21 and 20 points respectively for SEB.

Westover will face North Clayton at 7 p.m. tonight.

NORTH CLAYTON BOYS 58, DOUGHERTY 51: An inspired start from Dougherty wasn’t enough as North Clayton (8-1) pulled away for a victory in Friday’s night’s finale.

After narrowly edging the Eagles’ efforts in the first quarter, the Trojans (1-8) surrendered a 13-4 run to start the second. Despite a spirited response from the home team, North Clayton took a 28-26 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Despite all the positive momentum they took into the locker room, however, the Trojans would dig themselves into a deeper hole after the break. After holding a four-point lead briefly before the half, the Trojans wouldn’t find themselves within six points of the visitors for the rest of the night.

Junior forward Terry Lewis made his presence felt in the paint all night, grabbing seven rebounds in the first half alone. The first half saw Dougherty County force twice as many turnovers as North Clayton with the Trojans forcing eight to the Eagles’ four. The Trojans finished with 13 forced turnovers, while the Eagles finished with eleven.

David Quimby led the Trojans with 24 points and five rebounds, while Reginald Scurry added 24 and six rebounds for the Eagles. Tevon Hector followed Scurry with 14 points of his own.

Dougherty will face Terrell County in today’s opening game at 1 p.m.

Herald correspondent Timothy Threadcraft contributed to this story.