Lee County tops Dougherty, will play Langston Hughes for Round Ball title

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LEESBURG — The No. 4-ranked Lee County Trojans (9-2) will face Atlanta’s Langston Hughes (5-5) for the Round Ball Classic championship Saturday night at 8:30 at Lee County High School. Lee County earned its spot in the title game with a 59-55 win over Dougherty on Friday night, while Langston Hughes defeated Monroe 65-56 earlier in the evening.

In Friday’s game in front of a packed house, the Lee County Trojans led Dougherty for most of the contest but struggled to put them away until senior Braden Moore sealed the win with a clutch free throw in the final seconds.

Lee County held a slim 24-22 lead at halftime but came out strong in the third quarter, scoring the first eight points to build a 32-22 advantage before Dougherty could find the basket. Lee extended their lead to 48-39 entering the fourth quarter, but Dougherty stormed back behind the efforts of Juwuan Jinks and Kaleke Singletary-Jinks. A steal and slam dunk by Jaquavus Hallman electrified the Dougherty crowd, and Montravius Perkins tied the game at 50-50 with a putback at the three-minute mark.

Jinks briefly gave Dougherty a 51-50 lead with a free throw, but Ousmane Kromah responded on the next possession to put Lee County back on top. The teams traded blows until Moore drove to the basket for a layup, giving Lee County a 58-55 lead with 35 seconds remaining. After Dougherty turned the ball over, Moore was fouled and sank the final free throw to secure the victory.

Scoreless in the first half, Moore led Lee County with 16 second-half points. Matthew Hardwick added 11, and Kam Sanders contributed nine.