Saturday's Central Georgia Scoreboard: high schools (Upson-Lee survives Jones County) and colleges (ranked teams fall to Georgia College and MGSU) galore
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SATURDAY
High School
Basketball
Girls
GMC 75, Aquinas 36
Jones County 71, Upson-Lee 55
Balance was the difference for Jones County, which got 18 points from Ty Richardson, 13 from Nikki Greene, and 12 from Lu Woolfolk. Ja’khia Parker topped Upson-Lee with 21 points with Jakera Ellerbee adding 19.
Putnam County def. Greene County
Rutland 60, Crawford County 20
West Laurens 55, Dublin 41
Makayla Murray paced the Raiders with 22 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, Jakerra Wilbur and Calmela Mack adding 11 points each and teaming for five steals.
Valdosta 57, Houston County 34
Veterans 66, Thomas County Central 17
Warner Robins 61, Bainbridge 44
Westside 74, Mary Persons 28
Jalyiah Spencer led the way in the romp for the Seminoles with 24 points and six rebounds, Allayia McAfee turning in a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Naya Graham, Zyndia Robinson, and Maya Montgomery had 10 points each.
Boys
GMC 84, Aquinas 52
Houston County 70, Valdosta 63
Xavier Duncan helped the Bears even their region mark to 2-2 with 20 points, six boards, and two charges taken, while Charles Brown added 13 points.
Howard 53, Peach County 48
Salem 68, Northeast 61
Rutland 69, Crawford County 66
Spencer 68, Lamar County 59
Upson-Lee 68, Jones County 65, OT
Jones County had more balance, but it wasn’t enough.
The Greyhounds put five players in double figures only for Upson-Lee to overcome mistakes and use the spark of a steal on an inbounds to ease back ahead and hold on for the overtime non-region win.
The Knights held off the Greyhounds 58-51 a week earlier.
“Jones County’s got good athletes, good basketball players,” Upson-Lee head coach Darrell Lockhart said. “This is one of the better teams in 5A.”
Upson-Lee led 28-23 halftime lead, but Jones County had a solid third quarter to take a 44-41 lead entering the fourth.
“They spread the floor, so we had to play man,” Lockhart said. “We didn’t finish, we missed a few free throws. But we hung in there.”
The teams exchanged leads, and Jones County’s Chavis Mathis went to the line with 5.9 seconds left and made one of two for a 57-57 tie. Upson-Lee’s Zyrice Scott dribbled downcourt and put up a fairly open 20-footer with three seconds left that was a little long and bounced into Jones County’s hands.
Mathis was strong early in overtime and put Jones County on top, but some sloppy play hurt the Greyhounds, who suffered some turnovers in overtime that gave the Knights what they needed to go up by two possessions. The lead was six before a buzzer-beater at the end.
Scott led the Knights with 21 points, five of Upson-Lee’s 11 in overtime. Travon Walker had 19 before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
Marquis Jackson had 14 for Jones County, with Tre Dean and Chuck Pitts 13, Mathis 12 and Jameson Bryant 10. Mathis had 13 rebounds and four assists.
Upson-Lee improved to 16-1, and it was the Knights’ smallest margin of victory this season. Jones County fell to 14-6.
Veterans 67, Thomas County Central 40
Horace Johnson led Veterans to the easy win with 15 points, while Rodney James added 13 and TJ Grant 12. Veterans is up to 13-6 overall and 3-1 in region.
Warner Robins 56, Bainbridge 39
The Demons had control, lost it, and regained it with a 33-18 second half. Quon Dillar led hosts with 20 points, with Jacobi Coleman adding 14, Trevon Williams draining three 3s. The 13-4 Demons visit Harris County on Tuesday.
Westside 81, Mary Persons 75
The Seminoles got a huge game from Javian Mosley, who had 27 points and six rebounds. Kowacie Reeves added 24 points, and Desmon Foston a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double. Westside hosts Central on Tuesday.
College
Basketball
M-No. 11 Auburn 93, Georgia 78
Alicia Franklin went off for 35 points for the Wildcats.
M-Georgia College 75, No. 25 UNC Pembroke 68
W-Georgia Highlands 85, CGTC 83
W-Georgia State 56, Louisiana-Monroe 41
M-Georgia State 74, Louisiana-Monroe 73
M-Georgia Tech 73, Syracuse 59
M-Gordon State 82, CGTC 73
The Titans fell to 13-3 and 3-1.
W-Louisiana-Monroe 59, Georgia Southern 48
M-Louisiana-Lafayette 87, Georgia Southern 85
M-Middle Georgia State 73, No. 7 Stillman 52
Former Peach County standout Darrell White led MGSU with 15 points, while Kinsey Burgess had 15 points and Tyrone Young 15 rebounds.
W-Stillman 65, MGSU 45
W-UNC Pembroke 56, Georgia College 55