Lee County trio signs with HBCUs in Sunday ceremony

LEESBURG — Three Lee County basketball standouts signed national letters of intent Sunday to continue their playing careers at historically Black colleges during a ceremony at the Lee County High School gymnasium.

Bayyinah Citlak, Braden Moore, and Matthew Hardwick each made their college choices official in front of family, coaches, and teammates.

Citlak, a shooting guard for the Lady Trojans, will stay close to home and play for the Albany State Golden Rams.

“We got Bayyinah when she moved here from New York,” said Lee County girls basketball coach Tondra Davis. “I couldn’t pronounce her name at first, so we just called her ‘New York.’ But she came in with a tremendous work ethic. She said she loved playing basketball and wanted to be really good at it. We had a lot of long conversations about that, and she put in the work every day.”

“She will continue to get better when she gets to Albany State because they will have more time to spend with her,” Davis added.

Citlak is the daughter of Naima Cakirlar and Ayadogan Citlak.

After Citlak finished, Moore signed with South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Moore, the Albany Herald Player of the Year, averaged 14.8 points per game this season and led the Trojans to a 25-6 record and a trip to the Class 5A Final Four.

“Braden came into our program two years ago and was definitely a spark for our program on and off the court,” said boys’ head coach Kirven Davis. “I am 1000 percent sure that he is going to be successful at the next level.”

South Carolina State is a Division I school that competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs posted an 11-3 conference record this season and played the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, falling 79-72.

Braden is the son of Jason Moore and Tiffany Moore.

Hardwick signed with Fisk University, a private liberal arts school in Nashville, Tennessee.  Hardwick was Lee County’s big man in the paint, but also surprised teams with some three-point shots in key moments. He averaged  14.3 points and seven rebounds per game.

The Fisk Bulldogs compete in the NAIA and are members of the HBCUAC — the Historically Black College and University Athletic Conference.

“Matthew made a true transformation,” Davis said. “He is an example of what you want as a basketball player and a person. He is the epitome of the perfect student-athlete.”

Matthew is the son of Matthew Harwick, Sr. and Kawana Hardwick.

Davis also praised the senior class, which posted a 98-20 record as Trojans. Other seniors continuing their athletic careers include Kam Sanders, who signed to play with the Air Force Academy, and Ousmane Kromah, who accepted a football scholarship to play at Florida State University.