JEFFERSON — Class 4A No. 2 Jefferson nearly let a 12-point fourth quarter lead slip away but eventually held on for a nail-biting 58-56 Region 8-4A win over Cedar Shoals on Thursday night at The Arena.
The win temporarily keeps Jefferson (17-5, 7-1 Region 8-4A) in first place in the standings. The Dragons came in tied with Madison County (16-2, 6-1 Region 8-4A) who was idle on Thursday.
Jefferson used a tenacious defensive effort to hold the Jaguars (6-10, 3-4 Region 8-4A) to just 18 first-half points while building a 33-18 halftime lead. But Cedar Shoals stormed back in the third quarter.
The Jaguars used a 22-9 period to close within 42-40 heading into the fourth. Kashik Brown and Jerdavian Colbert combined for 27 second-half points for Cedar Shoals to get them within striking distance.
But Jefferson pushed its lead back to double digits early in the fourth with Dalen Gales and JT Fulkrod leading the charge. The Dragons hit 8 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Jaguars with Fulkrod going 5-of-6 from the line in the final minutes.
Gales finished with 14 points and Fulkrod added 13 for Jefferson. Kaiden Bailey had 9 for the Dragons.
Colbert poured in 21 points and Brown had 17 for Cedar Shoals.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 45,
FELLOWSHIP CHRISTIAN 21
The Lions snapped a three-game Region 6-A Private losing streak with a big region win at home on Thursday.
Lakeview (7-11, 4-5 Region 6-A Private) used an outstanding defensive effort in the first half, holding Fellowship (2-13, 0-8 Region 6-A Private) to just 8 points in the opening 16 minutes, including yielding just one free throw in the second quarter while building an 18-8 halftime lead. The Lions' offense broke out in the third with a 15-7 run in the period for a 33-15 advantage.
Isaiah Rico led Lakeview with 17 points.
CLARKE CENTRAL 90,
JOHNSON 27
The Knights’ defense was no match for the Gladiators' offensive firepower in a Region 8-5A loss at home.
Clarke (8-9, 5-3 Region 8-5A) used a big 26-4 first-quarter run to open the game and never looked back. The Gladiators led 53-11 at halftime.
Marcus Gillespie had a game-high 18 points to lead Clarke Central.
Johnson (1-17, 0-8 Region 8-5A) was led by Bryce Parson with 8 points.
The Knights next will travel to West Hall on Saturday.
FORSYTH CENTRAL 64,
GAINESVILLE 54
Gainesville (5-13, 1-7 Region 6-7A) stayed close but in the end, couldn't score enough to beat the Bulldogs (12-9, 3-5 Region 6-7A) on Friday at home.
Charlie Reisman scored 24 points to lead the Red Elephants in the second straight loss to the Bulldogs this season.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the opening quarter but Gainesville fired back with four straight points to tie the game, 7-7 with 4 minutes left. That would be as close as the Red Elephants would get the rest of the way. Central answered the run with a 9-2 spurt to take a 16-9 at the end of the quarter.
In the second, the Bulldogs pushed it up to a 10-point advantage late in the second quarter, the largest of the game, 26-16. Reisman hit a shot at the end of the second quarter to close the gap, 26-18.
Later in the game, Gainesville had an opportunity to tie the game after Octavion Demory nailed a bucket to close within one point, 38-37, with 1:18 to go in the third. Then the Bulldogs scored the next eight points to go up 46-37.
Gainesville cut it to four points off a Reisman 3-pointer with 1 minute left, but couldn't get any closer.
The Bulldogs had four guys in double figures. Cade Chitty and Eli Chol led the way with 15 points each, while Cody Howell scored 13, and Carson Leak had 10.
