Dougherty County boys claim No. 3 seed for state playoffs

ALBANY — The Dougherty boys basketball team earned the No. 3 seed from Region 1-AAAA Wednesday night by beating Cairo 71-59 at Monroe High School.

Dougherty head coach Bakari Bryant held normal starters such as Elijah West, Anthony Suttles, Kennard Norris and Lavonta Clyde out of the game until the fourth quarter, giving other players a lot of playing time.

Dougherty started strong with a full-court press that caused Cairo turnovers and gave the Trojans some easy points, leading early 17-9. But Cairo battled back and actually tied the game in the fourth quarter 51-51 before Bryant put that full-court pressure back on — and this time with some of his normal starters. For the remainder of the game, the Trojans outscored the Syrupmakers 20-8.

Mikel Jones led the scoring for the Trojans with 17 points, four shots from beyond the arc. Jawaun Jinks scored nine for the Trojans while Markelle Jones and Zaterious Griffin each added eight.

Joe Whitfield