The East Jackson Eagle basketball team had mixed results last week, as it picked up a victory over Banks County while falling to Apalachee and Habersham County.
The Eagles will travel to Hart County Friday night to face the Bulldogs in their first region pairing of the season.
Hart County enters the week after a 58-50 loss to Franklin County last Friday following a win over Chestatee and loss to North Hall.
It will be the first meeting of the two teams.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Apalachee
Last Tuesday, the Eagles traveled to Bethlehem to face the Apalachee Wildcats.
The Eagles found themselves trailing early, but began to rally to make the Wildcats’ lead just two points, 15-13, by the end of the quarter. The Eagles stayed within four points at the half as the Bulldogs held a 27-23 advantage at the buzzer.
East Jackson opened the second half with an 11-0 run to take the lead and held a one-point lead after the third quarter, 34-33. Apalachee held the Eagles to just three points though the fourth quarter, however, although East Jackson’s defense kept the Wildcats within two points until the final 30 seconds, when Apalachee opened the gap courtesy of several free throws and went on to win 44-37.
“In the first half we struggled scoring against their size and because of foul trouble by many of our players,” said coach Brian Turner. “We came out (of the half) and started fast, going on an 11-to-0 run to take the lead. However for the remainder we struggled on offense, scoring three points for the remainder of the game. Even with that, our defense held them in check and it was a two-point game with less than 30 seconds left and then they made some free-throws down the stretch for the final score.”
Cody Gibbs scored 11 and Kevin Dowdy10 to lead the Eagle offense.
Banks County
Things went better against Banks County.
East Jackson took control early, moving out to a 14-0 advantage early in the first quarter. That lead evaporated as the Leopards went on a run, and by the end of the first, the Eagles’ lead had been cut to just two points, 17-15. Banks County continued its charge, with the Eagles finding themselves in foul trouble. By the half, the Leopards held a five-point advantage, 26-31.
East Jackson turned things around in the third period, outscoring the Leopards 16-9 to retake the lead by the end of the third, 47-45. The Eagles maintained and grew that lead, going 12-18 from the free-throw line. In the end, the Eagles won 46-41.
Jake Grindle led the offense with 19 points. Gibbs scored 13, Dowdy 12, and Jermaine Davis added 10.
Habersham Central
After five games on the road to open the season, the Eagles finally held their home opener on Saturday, hosting the Habersham Central Raiders.
Habersham jumped out early, building a 12-8 first-quarter lead, which it increased to 24-18 at the half and 36-28 after three periods.
East Jackson rallied for 24 points in the final period, but Habersham was able to score 21 and came away with the 57-52 victory.
Gibbs scored 18 points to lead the Eagles, while Nathan Crumley scored 11.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News or The Jackson Herald.
