Region tournaments are next week for high school basketball. Here’s a look at where things stand for Bryan County and Richmond Hill.
The Richmond Hill boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are headed to the state tournament — now it’s just a matter of figuring out the particulars.
Both Wildcat teams are seeded third heading into the final regular season game of the year Friday at Bradwell Institute. Both also lost at Brunswick Tuesday night.
The girls dropped a 56-38 decision, led by 17 points from Hannah Yontz and 10 points from Tylandra Rhodes. The Wildcats trailed by two points entering the fourth quarter, but were outscored 23-7 by the Pirates.
“We gave them way too many opportunities late in the game with our turnovers and offensive rebounds that we gave up,” Coach Sarah Jones said. “We just have to finish out the whole game.”
The boys lost 51-44 to Brunswick, despite 17 points from Sam James and 12 from D.J. Lewis.
“We didn’t play very well in the second quarter and put ourselves behind heading into the second half,” Coach Bill Henderson said. “I was pleased with our effort in the second half coming back, but we are going to have to make sure we bring that effort for entire games heading into the region tournament.”
The Region 2-AAAAAA tournament is at Brunswick Feb. 7 and 9. The top two seeds from the region get to host the first round of the state tournament on either Feb. 16 or Feb. 17, with the third and fourth seeds going on the road.
The Region 2-AA tournament begins Feb. 6 at Toombs County for all eight teams in the region, with the top two teams getting a bye to the semifinals.
The Bryan County girls’ team improved to 19-4 overall and 9-4 in Region 2-AA with a 44-26 win at home Tuesday night against St. Vincent’s Academy. Olonna Rawls led the Redskins with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Alisha Fabin added 16 points and seven rebounds.
“I was really pleased with our effort on the defensive end,” Coach Mario Mincey said. “We were able to make some adjustments at halftime and put the game away in the fourth quarter.”
Mincey’s team is tied with Metter for second place in the region heading into the last region game of the year Friday at Bacon County. The Redskins finish the season at Southeast Bulloch Saturday.
“We are 19-4 and want to try and close out the regular season on a high note,” he said. “Our region tournament will be very tough, but I am excited to see how this young team will respond.”
The Bryan County boys team fell to Benedictine Tuesday, 65-59. Gage Hagan scored 19 points to lead the Redskins and Jaylin James added 13. They are 6-17 overall and 2-11 in the region heading into the final two games of the regular season.
“I thought we came out and gave a good effort at both ends of the floor,” coach Brent Anderson said. “We need a good week momentum-wise heading into the region tournament.”