Even though they got a solid, balanced attack offensively Friday night at Lanier, the South Pike girls could not secure the win in the end, getting edged by the Bulldogs 34-33.
With only seconds to go and the score tied at 33, the Bulldogs rebounded a missed free throw before the Eagles were called for a foul, giving Lanier another attempt. South Pike head coach Hilton Harrell did not agree with the call, which put Lanier at the line with no time left on the clock. The Bulldogs converted on the try thus handing the Eagles the loss.
“That is a judgment call at the end to put them on the line with no time left,” he said. “We thought it was questionable, but that is the way that it went.”
Despite the loss, Harrell was very pleased with his team’s performance.
“We played really, really well,” he said. “I thought that we played well enough to win and we had the chance to at the end but it just didn’t go our way.”
Both the Eagles (7-5, 2-2) and the Bulldogs got off to solid starts, each putting up eight first quarter points.
South Pike grabbed the upper hand in the second, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers from Shayla Johnson and one from Traniya Bates, complementing Samiya Jackson’s four makes from the free throw line.
With the Eagles holding a 21-18 lead going into the second half, both offenses went flat with just four points apiece in the third.
South Pike’s offense struggled a bit in the fourth with just one made field goal, a 3-pointer from Jackson. The rest of the scoring came from the free throw line where the Eagles were 5-of-8.
S. Pike boys fall to Lanier
Not having leading scorer Jaborri McGhee for a second-straight game, the South Pike Eagles had difficulty finding their offensive rhythm, falling to Lanier 86-43 on the road Friday night.
“We didn’t play well at all,” said Harrell who also coaches the boys team. “We are still a little short-handed and we didn’t handle pressure well.”
The struggles began early for the Eagles (9-4, 3-2) as their offense lacked firepower, scoring only five points in the opening frame. The defense didn’t fare well either, giving up 20 points to a balanced Bulldog attack.
Even though play ramped-up offensively for the Eagles in the second quarter, it was the same case for the Bulldogs as well. South Pike trailed 45-17 at the half.
An 18-point effort in the third, consisting of stellar play from Tamarion White and Zaveon Williams, paced the Eagles. but it was outdone by Lanier, which made seven field goals, part of a 22-point third for the hosts.
From there, the Eagles continued to fight but could not get back into the game.
Williams led South Pike with 16 points while White had 10.
