Saturday's Report: Region tourmanets, HS baseball/tennis, Mercer, FVSU, Georgia College, MGSU, Russell Henley; Braves, Falcons, UGA; NASCAR, college hoops, NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, golf;
📰S📰C📰O📰R📰E📰B📰O📰A📰R📰D
High Schools
🏀🏀🏀Girls basketball🏀🏀🏀
GHSA
Baldwin 60, Cross Creek 46
Janaye Walker had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks to lead Baldwin, Suri Clark adding 15, 15, and hitting all 7 free throws. Kassidy Neal was good for 11 points and 8 boards.
Coffee 57, Veterans 44
Dodge County 51, Washington County 47
Lyric Green scored 32 for Dodge County.
East Laurens 66, Central 52 (Click here for full story)
Glascock County 55, Wilkinson County 32
Hancock Central 57, Johnson County 52
Jones County 41, Stockbridge 40
Lamar County 55, Putnam County 53
Richmond Academy 46, Howard 42
GIAA
Brentwood 62, CFCA 49
David Emanuel 43, Covenant 42
John Milledge 54, Mount de Sales 47
Stratford 67, Piedmont 55 (Click here for full story)
Stratford warmed up first, making four of its first five shots in the third quarter to get in front for good before extending the lead in the fourth to beat Piedmont for the region title. Marissa Holder led Piedmont with 22, while Keck added 18 and Stroud 13. Guard Da’Laila Lowe was money all night long on both ends, finishing with a game-high 24 points, boosted by a sizzling 13-of-14 night at the free-throw line. Post player Kaliya Walker added 23 (7 of 9 at the line), and Camiyah Hudson 11.
Trinity Christian 57, Gatewood 15
🏀🏀🏀Boys basketball🏀🏀🏀
GHSA
Baldwin 57, Cross Creek 37
Baldwin won its fifth straight region title with a surprisingly easy time with No. 2 Cross Creek.
CFCA 72, Brentwood 59
Dublin 59, Bleckley County 50
Tristian Bell scored 20 to lead Dublin, AJ Johnson adding 11.
Greenforest 77, Putnam County 59
Jaylinn Harper had 15 and Tamnaud Woodson 13 as the War Eagles lost their second game of the year, in the region championship.
Hancock Central 58, Wilkinson County 43
Hawkinsville 48, Wilcox County 42
Lee County 76, Houston County 57
Kam Plummer put up 20 points for the Bears, who got 14 from Malik Gillespie and 11 from Braylin Mills. Lee County pulled away from a 31-31 halftime game.
Sandy Creek 50, Upson-Lee 38
Southwest 59, East Laurens 52 (Click here for full story)
Chase Dupree led the Patriots with 16 points, while Caron Howard and Brandon Ashley split 30 points.
Towers over Jasper County, forfeit
Veterans 60, Northside 58
Westover 62, Peach County 37
GIAA
Calvary Christian 56, Westfield 52
CFCA 72, Brentwood 59
Gatewood 74, Windsor 45
John Hancock 60, David Emanuel 59
Mount de Sales 55, Stratford 54 (Click here for full story)
Abner Livingston forced a huge turnover with 10.5 seconds left, then took the inbounds pass, went down court and swished a 12-footer with two seconds left to cap No. 4 Mount de Sales’ double-digit fourth quarter comeback for the region championship. Livingston finished with 11. Rowley led Mount de Sales with 17 points, while Alex Roseboro and Zavion DeShazier added 13 each. Frankie Raines topped Stratford with 17, while Justin Sewell had 12.
Tattnall 69, John Milledge 60
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
Calvary Day 3, Bleckley County 2
Houston County 7, North Oconee 1
Mary Persons 3, Alexander 0
Northside 5, Warner Robins 4
Peach County 6, Lanier 1
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ Soccer ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
G-Warner Robins 5, Bleckley County 1
B-Warner Robins 4, Bleckley County 0
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
Georgia College 12, Lynn 0; Georgia College 7, Lynn 5
Georgia Tech 3, Old Dominion 2
Middle Georgia State 8, Blue Mountain 2; MGSU 9, BMC 0
Milwaukee 6, Mercer 3
🥎 🥎 🥎Softball 🥎 🥎 🥎
FVSU 5, Claflin 1; Alabama A&M 3, FVSU 2
Mercer 9, Stony Brook 3; Tennessee State 8, Mercer 6
📰C📰O📰V📰E📰R📰A📰G📰E📰
Around/About Central Georgia
Henley battles second-round struggles
Russell Henley’s game returned on the second nine and he finished 1 under for the second round of the Genesis Invitational.
Henley started on No. 10 and got halfway through before bogeying consecutive par 4s on 14 and 15 after a birdie on 12, dropping him to 1 over and a tie for 21st.
He managed a birdie on No. 6 and avoided bogeys to get back under for the day and into a tie for 14th, seven back of leader Davis Thompson.
Around/About Georgia
Acuna Jr. says he has almost fully recovered from ACL surgery
Atlanta remaining confident as squad returns to full strength in 2025
How will Bralen Trice, DeMarcco Hellams factor into Falcons' defense?
UGA gymnastics meet goes on after fire outside Stegeman
Auto Racing
NASCAR Cup Series DAYTONA 500 Lineup
With bad weather looming, NASCAR moves up start time to Daytona 500
Start your engines: NASCAR Cup Series primer
Johnson scuffled in his first 2 years as NASCAR team owner. Can he make Legacy a winner?
NASCAR’s lone Black Cup driver Bubba Wallace ‘couldn’t care less’ if Trump attends Daytona 500
College Basketball/Women
Which programs could soon rival the bluebloods of the sport?
Barnes Arico surpasses Beilein as Michigan basketball's winningest coach with win over Indiana
College Basketball/Men
Florida’s Micah Handlogten returning from a broken leg and with the 3rd-ranked Gators needing help
NBA
Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Micky Arison, ‘Redeem Team’ among Hall of Fame finalists
Former Bucks forward Khris Middleton thanks Milwaukee in social media post
NFL/USFL/UFL/Football
Philadelphia turns green on Valentine’s Day to celebrate Super Bowl champions
Coen deep dive: Coach's inner circle helped shape NFL destiny
Jags claim Steelers calling about trade for Trevor Lawrence is 'ridiculous'
Kansas City Chiefs hire Jackson State football linebackers coach Chris Orr
College Football
SEC tries to revise College Football Playoff bracket, but Greg Sankey faces pushback
Big Ten joins SEC as college football boogeymen with focus on winning at all costs
White, record-setting quarterback for West Virginia, returns to Mountaineers as an assistant
College QBs can learn from Hurts’ bumpy road to Super Bowl champion
College Football/SEC/ACC/South
DeBoer's first Alabama football season subject of sports documentary
UCF athletics receives $1.5 million pledge for Hagle Football Gateway project
College Sports
Long putts, halfcourt shots and other in-game contests keep fans engaged and raise the fun factor
WNBA/Women’s basketball
Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Micky Arison, ‘Redeem Team’ among Hall of Fame finalists
Napheesa Collier takes home $200K and Unrivaled 1-on-1 crown, beating Aaliyah Edwards in final
Baseball/MLB
Phillies start spring training following Division Series loss and quiet offseason
Suzuki and Counsell are working on their communication in spring training with the Cubs
Strength in numbers: New Red Sox righty Walker Buehler sees club joining trend of Dodgers
Tennis
Eugenie Bouchard crosses over to the pro pickleball circuit, tennis still remains in her plans
Golf
Thompson leads by 1 over Scottie Scheffler with Rory McIlroy lurking at Torrey Pines
Soccer
Morning after scoring historic goal, 16-year-old Michael Noonan heads back to school
Man City defender Manuel Akanji out for 8-10 weeks after needing surgery on muscle injury
Scoreboards