Brawl ends Central, B.E.S.T. game early

A bench-clearing brawl led to the early conclusion of the Region 4-AAA game between Central Carroll and B.E.S.T. Academy.

The contest was stopped by the officials with 3:29 left in the game after an incident following a hard foul caused tempers to overflow, the Times-Georgian of Carrollton reported.  B.E.S.T. Academy was awarded the 62-47 victory, the score at the time the game was called.

Central coach Darius Smiley told the Times-Georgian, “They've got some kids that are 6-4, 6-5 and that kind of bothered us some with their length. But one time Lamar [Daniel] goes up and gets hit in the face. I don't know. I coach my kids to play through foul calls and let me handle the referees. Unfortunately, it didn't work like that [Friday] because we got a kid ejected and a melee broke out," Smiley said. "That's not Central High School, that's not Central basketball, it's not anything that needs to be associated with Central. I'm really embarrassed as the basketball coach of Central High School."

Buford boys, girls keep rolling

The Buford boys and continue to rock along toward the postseason, with each team adding another lopsided road victory on Friday night.

The boys hammered Fannin County 62-23, while the girls scored a 65-37 win.

The girls improved to 18-1 and remained undefeated in Region 7-AAA at 10-0. Bree Horrocks scored 14 and Zikaya Wright added 13 for the Wolves.

The boys  (15-5) got 16 points from Montgomery VanGorder and 10 from Isaac Nauta to remain perfect in league play.

The Buford girls have won 18 in a row and the boys have won nine straight games.

Top 2-AAA girls teams prevail

Two of the top girls teams in Region 2-AAA came away with impressive wins on Friday.

Southwest Macon improved to 15-2 with a 57-15 win over Jackson on Friday. The Patriots of coach Willie Goolsby caused havoc with their pressing defense and got 21 points from Ny’asia Holmes. Shakenya Peters added 12 points.

Peach County upped its record to 17-3 with a 63-51 win over Henry County. The Trojans broke open a close game with 22-point third quarter. Alexia Green scored 25 and Nausia Woolfolk added 24 for Peach, offsetting a 20-point effort from Henry’s Taylor Sistrunk.

Peach and Southwest meet again on Friday in Fort Valley. Peach won the first meeting 63-57.

Woodward knocks off Blessed Trinity

Defending Region 6-AAA champion Woodward Academy snapped Blessed Trinity’s 11-game winning streak on Friday. The War Eagles came away with a 57-54 win.

The win gives Woodward a sweep of the season series. It beat Blessed Trinity by 17 in December.

Woodward is led by senior Trey Williams, who averages 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds, and Christian Harrison, who averages 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds.

Central Carroll girls first to 20-win plateau

The Central Carroll girls became the first team in Class AAA to win 20 games. The Lions defeated Coretta Scott King 63-27 on Friday and improved to 20-2. Central leads Region 4-AAA with a 9-1 record. Sherae Bonner scored 17 points to lead Central.

Washington County boys win No. 16

The No. 2 Washington County boys rode a balanced offensive attack to a 76-39 win over Jefferson County. The Golden Hawks (16-1) had 11 different players score in a game they led 41-11 at halftime.

Kendall Phillips led Washington County with 14 points. McKel Miller and Danford Jordan scored 11 each, with six of Jordan’s points coming on a pair of 3-pointers.

Balanced Beach girls win big again

The Beach girls put four girls in double figures and drubbed Brantley County 82-36, improving to 19-1. The Bulldogs are 12-1 in Region 1-AAA.

Jada Young tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way, with Jacqueline Anderson adding 16, Ilyn Spann scoring 14 and Dymanee Royal scoring 10.

Egerton’s 25 points lifts White County

The White County boys warmed up for Tuesday’s test against Buford by whipping North Hall 87-70. The Warriors (14-6, 6-4) were led by Jordan Egerton, who scored 25. White had two others in double figures: Spencer Adams with 14 and White Mauney with 11.

Briefly …

  Girls: Dawson County girls avoided the upset bid from East Hall and prevailed 52-48 in overtime. … North Hall's Sydney Cleveland scored 19 in a 54-38 win over White County. … Milenah Doswell scored 20 to lead Savannah to a 54-31 win over Appling County. … Appling County 17 each from Martisha Ashley and Phil Bryant to beat Southeast Bulloch, despite 21 points from Jasmine Roberts.

Boys: One of the best performances from Friday night came from Austin Venable of Banks County. Venable had a double-double, scoring 29 points and snatching 14 rebounds in an 80-69 victory over West Hall.