FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga — Flowery Branch built a big halftime lead and then held off a furious second-half rally to beat Dawson County, 62-61, in both teams’ season openers on Tuesday.
The Falcons (1-0) used a 23-point second quarter, paced by 10 points from Tyleek Worth, to take a 37-24 halftime lead. They led 42-29 before the Tigers (0-1) Caden Reed exploded in the fourth quarter.
Reed scored 12 straight points to cap a 19-6 run to tie the game at 48 with six minutes left. He would finish with a game-high 33 points, 26 in the second half.
Branch’s Fe Honors then got hot, pouring in 10 of his team-high 15 points in the final period as the Falcons, despite hitting just 5-of-11 free throws for the game, were able to hold on.
Dawson County trailed 62-55 with 46 seconds left but eventually trimmed it to 62-61 with 2.8 seconds left. The Falcons missed a free throw, but the Tigers' last-ditch shot at the buzzer could not find the net.
Worth finished with 14 points for Flowery Branch.
Troy Harvey poured in 14 points for the Tigers. Dawson County hit just 11-of-20 free throws.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 61,
APALACHEE 42
The Bears opened their season with an impressive win against the Class 6A Wildcats at home.
Bluff (1-0) led just 14-9 after the first quarter but outscored Apalachee 29-17 in the second and third quarters to pull away.
Logan Holmes paced the Bears with 18 points and 5 rebounds. Boston Kersh added 16 points and 5 rebounds. Carlos Marlow had 13 points and 4 rebounds, while Tanaka Mukono and Bryce Horton combined for 8 steals on the defensive end for Bluff.
Alex Savage led Apalachee with 9 points.
The Bears will next travel to Class 7A Forsyth Central on Friday.
ATHENS ACADEMY 63,
WEST HALL 58
Athens Academy went on a 9-4 over the last three minutes to pull away from the Spartans in the non-region game at home.
Isaiah Holder led the Spartans with 16 points, Owen Jenkins had 14, Andrew Malin dropped 8, and Xavier Felix scored 7.
Isaac Rorey led Athens Academy with 17 points, while Justin Goodelock had 16.
