COMMERCE – Riverside (20-4) almost punched a ticket to the consolation round of the Region 8-A tournament Friday night.
Thanks to the Eagle trio of Isaac Teasley, Shad Dabney and Khalid Duke, Riverside rallied to a 60-51 win over Prince Avenue Christian in the semifinals and earned a spot in the region title game.
Teasley led the way with 22 points and 4 board, while Dabney hit for 14 points, dished out 8 assists and had 3 steals. Duke did his work on the boards, ripping down 14 and tossing in 9 points.
Trailing 25-23 at the half, Riverside outscored Prince 35-28 in the final 16 minutes.
Riverside will play Lakeview for the Region 8-A championship Saturday at Commerce. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
LAKEVIEW 37
ATHENS ACADEMY 32
Adam Cottrell's team-high 16 points pushed him over 1,000 career points in Lakeview's win over Athens Academy Friday night in the semifinals of the Region 8-A tournament. Cottrell also pulled 7 rebounds and 6 steals.
KJ Millwood added 7 points and 18 rebounds and Holden Cooper scored 7 points.
The Lions (19-8) will play Riverside for the Region 8-A championship Saturday at Commerce. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
ELBERT COUNTY 63
BANKS COUNTY 51
A six-point third quarter put a damper on Banks County's hopes of a Region 8-2A championship Friday night at Elbert County.
After a close to even first half by the two region foes, Elbert County's defense smothered the Leopards (19-8) in the second half, especially the third frame to win the Region 8-2A title.
The Blue Devils outscored Banks 29-19 in the second half.
Carl Cleveland led the Leopards with 30 points.