Dougherty splits with Westover

ALBANY — After a season full of ups and downs, the Dougherty boys ended the regular season on a high note. The Trojans defeated Westover 64-56 Saturday night at home to end a regular season that saw them forfeit 16 games because of an eligibility issue.

While the win did not do anything for the Trojans’ standing in Region 1-AAAA as they had the eighth seed locked up entering the game, the victory gave them momentum heading into the region tournament which begins Monday, where Dougherty will face Cook.

The Trojans came out strong leading 19-11 at the end of the first quarter. They led by 10 early in the second before Westover was able to cut it to 29-22 at halftime.

“We went through a lot of hard work over the course of the week,” Dougherty coach Ty Randolph said. “I think you see the mature side come in and close it. We’ve kind of struggled with that part of the game.”

The Trojans got off to an exciting start in the second half when David Quimby found Isreal Shead for a backdoor alley-oop dunk.

They got a little emotional when some pushing and shoving led to a technical foul on a Dougherty player.

Westover got three points from the extra possession and cut the lead to just six.

The Patriots once again cut it to a six-point game when Allec Williams hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter.

Dougherty led 43-37 at the start of the fourth quarter.

The crowd came alive in the final quarter when Kahli Day hit a trey. The three was followed by a steal which led to a spinning layup by Quimby to give Dougherty an eight-point advantage.

Williams had a big fourth quarter for Westover scoring eight points, including two free throws that cut the score to 58-54 with 1:04 left in the game. Jordan Brown hit two free throws with 38 seconds left to cut the Dougherty lead to three, but that was as close as they would get.

Day hit two big free throws with 36 seconds left to ice the game. He hit five of his six free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans have now put together a small two-game win streak as they also beat Thomas County Central on Friday night.

“I thought through the course of the game you could see the momentum building,” Randolph said. “You could see the chemistry starting to get back to where it was. That is a tremendous credit to the guys. This is a mentally tough group of guys. They’ve had to go through a lot this season. Through it all they fought together.”

Williams led all scorers with 23 points. Westover’s Quindavious Smith added 12.

Shead led Dougherty with 15 points, while Quimby dropped 12.

Westover girls 53, Dougherty 23

The Lady Patriots came out with their foot on the gas and rarely hit the brakes in the first half. The strong start was good enough for a victory over Dougherty.

Nyla Perry opened the game with back-to-back threes for Westover as the Lady Patriots went on a 12-0 to start the first quarter. Later in the quarter, another trey by Perry gave the Lady Patriots a 15-1 lead that held until the end of the first quarter.

Westover’s Bryshea Jackson scored nine points in the second quarter while Perry added another three and a layup. She finished with 11 in the game.

Dougherty’s offense saw a slight improvement in the second quarter. The Lady Trojans put up six points, but trailed 38-7 at halftime.

Kianna Lancaster provided a boost for Dougherty in the second half. She hit a three in the third and two more in the second. Those were her only nine points of the game.

The second half was routine for Westover as they coasted to the victory, their final game of the regular season.

Perry was the game’s leading scorer with 14.