Staff reports

Bryan County High School moved up a notch to No. 4 in the most recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution state Class A girls' basketball poll.

The Lady Redskins, previously ranked No. 5, also moved up in the win column on Saturday night after beating Portal 63-19. The win improved BCHS to 16-2 overall and 5-0 in Region 3A-A.

Individual stats were unavailable, but senior Olivia Melvin reportedly needs only four points to eclipse the 1,000 point mark.

In the boys' contest, Portal (11-5, 5-2) beat winless BCHS 71-48. Bryan County fell to 0-17 overall.

Claxton was at BCHS on Tuesday, then BCHS plays host to Savannah Christian Friday and Richmond HIll on Saturday.

Lady Wildcats outhustle Brunswick

Richmond Hill used a balanced scoring attack and a lot of hustle at the Wildcat Gym on Friday to edge visiting Brunswick 67-61 in a region 2A-AAAA contest.

The Wildcats had four players in double figures: Keeara Jackson 20, Aliyah Johnson 17, Sydney Millek 16 and Tay Reynolds 13.

Richmond Hill's Sarah Goolsby, who scored one point. kept the crowd entertained with her ball-hawking hustle at both ends of the court.

"We are still trying to find our game sometimes but our hustle has been able to overcome whatever we lack in ability" coach Elizabeth Bennett said.

Richmond Hill held off a fourth period Brunswick comeback attempt by hitting 16 of 26 from the charity stripe. Johnson was 10 of 16 and Johnson sank five of six.

Brunswick was led by Freshmen Destiny Alston's 28 points, and Brianna Gipson's 10.

By virtue of the win Richmond Hill, (9-8, 3-2) is in a second place tie with Brunswick. Both teams are a game behind Glynn Academy in the region standings but now must go on the road for four of their last five region contests. Tuesday the Lady Wildcats travel to Liberty County before taking on Wayne County at home on Friday.

Girls

BHS - 5 11 18 27 61

RHHS - 13 6 16 32 67

BHS - Destiny Alston 28, Brianna Gipson 10, Kilah Nixon 8, Hillary Rowell 5, Karren Filer 5, Niesha Evans 2, Wytavia Andrews 2, Brittany Parland 1.

RHHS - Keeara Jackson 20, Aliyah Johnson 17, Sydney Millek 16, Tay Reynolds 13, Sarah Goolsby 1.

Late call, free throws doom Wildcats

Brunswick's Jaamond Kelly drew a foul call with less than a second remaining and hit both free throws to give the visiting Pirates a 48-46 win over Richmond Hill on Tuesday.

Seconds before, Richmond Hill's Vernon Jackson sank a 19-foot jumper from the corner to tie the score.

After Brunswick failed to get a shot off it appeared the game was headed to overtime but the call sent Kelly to the line and he made the opportunity count.

Richmond Hill's defense held the highly regarded Pirates to just 17 first half points but by the end of the third period Brunswick had all but evened the game up and a back and forth fourth period ensued.

Jackson led all scorers with 17 points. D'Angelo Johnson added 13 for the Wildcats, who fell to 13-5 overall and 3-2 in Region 2A-AAAA. The Wildcats are now in third place in the region. Brunswick (16-2, 5-1) took over sole possession of first place.

The Pirates were led by Ty Jackson's 15 points, Theo Brunner added 13.

Richmond Hill was at Liberty County Tuesday. The Wildcats are at home for Wayne County on Friday then face BCHS in Pembroke on Saturday.

BHS - 4 13 14 17

RHHS - 13 12 9 12

BHS - Ty Jackson 15, Theo Brunner 13, Jaamond Kelly 9, Eddie Delegal 5, Tobiasz Hose 4.

RHHS - Vernon Jackson 17, D'Angelo Johnson 13, Spencer Buck 6, Alex Cruz 4, Brandon Jordon 3, Zach Stegner 3.