HINESVILLE — On to Statesboro for Bradwell for and on to the offseason for Richmond Hill.
The three-seed Tigers (15-10) got their third win in three tries this season against the six-seed Wildcats (5-21) Friday night in the Region 2-6A Boys Tournament quarterfinals.
The latest victory for the Tigers was quick work, winning 80-41 and eliminating the Wildcats from the region tournament and terminating the latter from the Class 6A state playoffs.
Three minutes into the game, the Tigers were up 9-0 after two Jaylin Frasier threes.
J. Frasier led the Tigers in scoring with 15.
This caused Wildcats Head Coach Bill Henderson to burn their first timeout.
A tre by Tahshaun Frasier, who had 13 for the night got the Tigers up by 10 with 3:42 left.
By the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats entered the dub club, trailing 27-6 following a three by Ja’mar Price, who had 13 points.
Before the half, J. Frasier took the top off Bradwell’s gym as he took off from the right block with right handed slam over Ahkee Mack.
Bradwell were up by 41, clinging to a 53-12 lead as fans from both teams departed the gym with 16 more minutes of ball left.
“It’s that time of year where it’s win or go home,” Tigers Head Coach Ty Randolph said after the game. “This group right has faced a lot of adversity over the past 2-3 years prior to me coming here. Last year was a learning stage in the system. I just think we’re seeing the fruits of the labor for the most part. We preach locking in and staying focused daily in practice. They did great job getting that done as a group.”
With the second half already out of reach, Bradwell subbed out their starters as the coasted on to the region semis.
The Tigers have clinched a state playoff spot and will now go on to Lee Hill Arena on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. to face Effingham, a team that they split the regular season matchups with in overtime games for the next round of the region tourney.
“They’re a well-coached team and very senior-oriented,” Randolph said over their region foe. “It’s that time of the year where everybody’s good. No matter who were playing, we always focus on playing our top game because we know we’re going to get everybody’s else’s best game. Effingham is just like everybody else. We got a mission to accomplish and we’re going to go get it.”
As for the Wildcats, they finish 5-21 in the 2021-22 season, the first losing season since 2013-14.
“The season didn’t go the way you expected it to go and that’s part of it,” Henderson said following the game. “There’s ups and downs. I’m just proud of the guys. It’s been a long, tough year but the guys never wavered. I’m proud of them for sticking it through until the end even under the circumstances that they found themselves in. We’ve got a bunch of young talent. We’re going to graduate three seniors and then have one junior. Everybody else are freshmen and sophomores. They did a lot of things really well in the second half. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That should motivate guys to work really hard and not find yourself in this situation again. They’re motivated to turn this thing around over the next few years.”