GAINESVILLE — Both Lakeview Academy teams will have a chance to capture back-to-back Region 8-A titles after taking convincing wins Friday night in the Region 8-A Tournament.
The Lady Lions used a ferocious defensive effort forcing 19 turnovers in a 63-45 win over George Walton while the boys got three runs over 10 points or more en route to an 80-51 victory over Towns County.
But, the key games for both teams will come on Saturday night as the tournament winner gets an automatic berth into the Class A Private state tournament.
The Lady Lions will take on Prince Avenue Christian at 6 p.m. and the boys will battle Athens Christian at 7:30 p.m. at the Lakeview gym for the region titles.
While it is key for both teams, Saturday’s finals is especially important for the Lakeview boys, who come into the game as No. 1-ranked team in the Class A Private power rankings. A win could put them in a position to garner the overall No. 1 seed in the state tournament and a favorable draw throughout.
“That is big,” said Lakeview boys coach Todd Cottrell. “But a lot of things are out of our control with that. What we see is the opportunity to win back-to-back region titles, which has never been done here before.”
Lakeview girls coach John Carrick said the only thing they are looking at is trying to repeat.
“The region championship to us is the important thing,” Carrick said. “That was one of our goals coming into the year and we have a chance to do that. I don’t worry about (state tournament) seeding.”
The Lakeview girls (23-4) set the tone for the two teams. After falling behind 2-0 in the opening minute, the Lady Lions used a 15-2 run to take control. They would hold a 19-9 advantage after the first quarter and the Lady Bulldogs (20-6) never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.
The Lady Lions built a 37-20 halftime lead, led 50-34 after the third quarter, and led by as many as 20 late in the fourth quarter.
Hanna Grogan paced Lakeview with 20 points, Christian Copeland added 14, Kennedy Payne had 12, and Sadie Thrailkill 10 points for the Lady Lions.
Elizabeth White led George Walton with 17 points. Capriya Carr added 10 for the Lady Bulldogs.
In the boys game, Lakeview (22-5) never trailed and opened the game with a 15-6 run that included Josh Randolph topping the 1,000-point mark for his career. Towns County (18-9) pulled within 15-11 on a pair of free throws but that would be as close as the Indians would get the rest of the way.
The Lions used a 10-0 run to take control and eventually pushed their lead to 43-27 by halftime. They opened the third quarter with an 11-4 run for a 54-31 advantage. Lakeview exploded for a 10-2 run to begin the fourth quarter to put it out of reach.
Randolph and Drew Cottrell each poured in 20 points to lead Lakeview. Tre Gober and Evan Pitts added 11 points each for the Lions.
Zach Davenport paced Towns County with 18 points. Will Devries added 11 and went over the 1,000-point mark as well in the fourth quarter.
Towns County will play Tallulah Falls at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the third-place game.
ATHENS CHRISTIAN BOYS 52,
TALLULAH FALLS 49
The Eagles used a 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter to grab the lead and then held on for the victory to advance to the finals.
Athens Christian (21-5) trailed 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter after Tallulah Falls (23-4) had used a 13-5 run to end the third quarter to grab the lead.
The game was back-and-forth most of the first half with the Indians leading 10-8 after the first quarter. The Eagles used a 15-10 second quarter to take a 23-20 lead into halftime.
Quincey Canty paced Athens Christian with 17 points. Richard Jibunor added 13 for the Eagles.
Trey Wilcox led Tallulah Falls with 15 points. Sanson Navarette chipped in with 10 points for the Indians.
Tallulah Falls will take on Towns County at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the third place game.
PRINCE AVENUE GIRLS 41,
TALLULAH FALLS 32
The Lady Wolverines held Tallulah Falls to just two fourth quarter points to rally for the win and into the finals.
It is the first finals appearance for Prince Avenue (19-6) since winning the region in 2011. The Lady Wolverines will take on Lakeview Academy in the finals at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The Lady Indians (13-13) led most of the way taking a 10-6 lead after the first quarter and 20-15 at halftime. But the Lady Wolverines chipped away beginning in the third quarter.
Ansley Hall poured in 10 of her game-high 17 points in the period as they cut the Tallulah Falls lead to 30-29 heading into the fourth quarter. Prince Avenue outscored the Lady Indians 12-2 in the final period to pull away for the victory.
Madison Britt added 11 points for Prince Avenue.
Lillie Free paced Tallulah Falls with 10 points. Ashley Crosby and Nyah Williams had nine points apiece for the Lady Indians.
Tallulah Falls will play George Walton at 3 p.m. in the third-place game.
