A week that started out roughly ended on a high note for the East Jackson Eagles. After dropping games to Athens Christian and Hart County, the Eagles rebounded to beat Apalachee.
East Jackson will host Oglethorpe County in a region contest on Friday at 8:30.
The Patriots enter play this week 2-4 overall, fresh off of an 83-67 loss to Johnson.
The Eagles have won six of the last seven matchups between the two teams dating back to Dec. of 2007.
Athens Christian
Last Tuesday, the Eagles hosted Athens Christian.
Athens Christian took control early, outscoring East Jackson two-to-one to take an 18-9 lead by the end of the first quarter. They led 43-23 at the half, outscored the Eagles 25-14 in the third stanza and went on to win 80-45.
Jake Grindle led East Jackson in scoring with 13 points, while Cody Gibbs added 11.
“Athens Christian came in and completely dominated every aspect of the game against us,” said coach Brian Turner. “They jumped on us in the first and continued to do so for the remainder of the game. We gave up way too many easy baskets in transition and on the offensive glass.”
Hart County
On Friday, the Eagles traveled to Hart County for their first sub-region game.
East Jackson appeared to be in control early, outscoring the Bulldogs 21-14 in the first quarter. Hart County reversed that in the second period, however, outscoring the Eagles 21-15 and cutting the Eagle lead to 36-35 at the half.
The Bulldogs used a 22-18 third quarter to take a three-point lead, 57-54, then held onto their margin as each team scored 18 points in the final stanza, giving the Bulldogs a three-point win, 75-72.
Gibbs led East Jackson with 22 points. Grindle scored 15, Jermaine Davis 11 and Tevin Dowdy 10.
“Due to discipline reasons, we went very short-handed but the kids responded with an outstanding effort,” Turner said. “The game was back and fourth the entire night. However, I feel that our lack of depth hurt us on the free throw line in fourth quarter. In the first three quarters we were 12 for 16 from the line but in the fourth, when it mattered, the most we went 4 for 12.”
Apalachee
It was good to be back on the home court Saturday against Apalachee.
The Eagles took an early lead, putting together a four-point advantage for a 16-12 edge at the end of the first quarter. They stretched that to 30-20 at the half and led 33-29 after three periods, picking up the win, 45-38.
Gibbs led the offense with 17 points, while Davis added 10.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News or The Jackson Herald.
