Newspaper Page Text
ft FAYETTE COUNTY
OPORTS
Wednesday, February 22,2023
Fayette County News B1
Fayette Boys Beat Whitewater for Region Championship
Special to FCN
It was a cat fight for the
region crown, with the
Fayette County Tigers
surging in the second half
to fend off the Whitewater
Wildcats 72-61 for the re
gion boys championship.
“It feels good, especially
with this young team,”
Fayette Coach Andre Flynn
said of winning the region
title with a team starting
three sophomores. “It’s
been a process. It’s been a
very enjoyable process. I
don’t think anyone ex
pected it after we lost
Kaleb (Banks to the Uni
versity of Indiana), but
they pulled together. They
work really hard.”
The first half was a bat
tle. Whitewater jumped
out to an early lead, shak
ing off an RJ Kennedy and
one dunk, to go up 13-7.
The Tigers clawed back to
tie it at 15-15 after one
quarter.
The second quarter
continued the back-and-
forth as the lead traded
hands several times, with
Fayette leading 32-30 at
halftime.
The Tigers knew they
were in a fight from the
feisty Wildcats, and Flynn
urged them to keep their
confidence in the second
half.
“We were pressing a lit
tle bit. I told them, ‘Don’t
get frustrated’,” he said.
“Once we started rolling,
it’s tough to stop us.”
The team responded
with an 8-0 run out of the
break, and they built a
double-digit lead over the
course of the quarter. Bar
ron Ofosu hit a three-
pointer late to pull
Whitewater back within
53-39 heading into the
fourth quarter.
Braeden Ofosu started
the fourth hot, scoring on a
three-point play, then
notching a steal and dunk
to get within 13. Fayette
kept them at arm’s length
though, even with three-
pointers coming from Bar
ron Ofosu and Ashtain
Preston, to win 72-61.
Sean Van Dorn
dropped a double-double
for Fayette with 27 points
and 20 rebounds. RJ Ken
nedy posted 28 points, five
rebounds, and three as
sists. Christian McAllister
chipped in 10 points.
Barron Ofosu led the
Wildcats with 20 points,
and Braeden Ofosu fol
lowed with 13. Seyi Dara-
mola added 10.
The Tiger boys host
New Hampstead in round
one of the state playoffs,
while Whitewater hosts SE
Bulloch.
The Fayette County
Lady Tigers finished as re
gion runner-up, dropping
a close game to Trinity
Christian, 46-44.
Trinity dominated the
first quarter, building a 16-
3 lead. The second quarter
started to tilt a bit back in
the Tigers’ favor. Deyla
McCoy scored four straight
points with a drive to the
hoop and a pair of free
throws to trim the deficit to
18-8 at halftime.
The Tigers kept coming
after the break. An even
scoring load with buckets
from Megan Ohonde, An
drea Hope, and Kylah Hall
tied the game at 21-21, and
Emily Nwuha scored three
times in a row as the Tigers
pulled in front by four.
Trinity fought back, but
a Bri’Ann Freeman basket
in the paint made it a 31-30
Fayette lead heading into
the final frame.
Trinity got hot, swing
ing in from 42-39 heading
into the final minutes.
Ohonde and Nwuha scored
on putbacks to pull in front
43-42, but the Lions
surged ahead. The Tigers
had a shot to tie it at the
end, but their free throws
with fractions of a second
left would not fall.
With the loss, the Lady
Tigers enter the playoffs as
a two seed where they host
Islands in round one.
The Starr’s Mill girls
also qualified for the play
offs as a three seed. They
travel to play Wayne
County.
Sean Van Dorn dropped a double-double with 27 points
and 20 rebounds. Submitted
Sandy Creek Sweeps Region Titles
Special to FCN
It was a Sandy Creek
sweep as the Patriots de
fended their home court to
win a pair of region cham
pionships on Feb 16.
The Lady Patriots
fended off a fierce foe, beat
ing the Carver Panthers 51-
46.
“It feels good, of course,”
Sandy Creek Coach Tishay
Lewis said of winning a re
gion title. “These girls
worked hard, so it feels good
to have something to cele
brate.”
Sandy Creek dominated
the first half. Janae Walker
capped it with a steal and
bucket in the waning sec
onds to lead 30-17, but
Carver would not go away.
The lead dwindled to
single digits midway
through the third quarter,
and a Walker and one was
needed to keep the Patriots
ahead 41-33 heading into
the final frame.
They were able to fend
off Carver down the stretch,
thanks to a few key buckets.
Shayla Cox hit a three-
pointer to stay ahead 45-34,
and Walker sank a pair of
free throws to lead 51-40
with under two minutes to
play. Carver added a pair of
buckets late, but Sandy
Creek’s defense held them
off at the end to win.
Janae Walker led the
way with 24 points, 16 of
them coming in the second
half. Shayla Cox and Jaylyn
Durham each added eight
points.
The Lady Patriots enter
the playoffs with a 15-11
record. They host Adairs-
ville in round one of the
state playoffs.
“They’re moving the ball.
They’re passing the ball a lit
tle bit better,” said Lewis.
“We’ve still got a few things
that we need to work on, but
we’re pulling it together
slowly but surely.”
The Sandy Creek boys
rolled though Cedar Grove
in the late game, 76-52.
The sixth-straight region
championship is something
the team doesn’t take for
granted, even as they have
won 80 region games in a
row.
“It feels great to win the
region title again. I never
take winning things like that
for granted or overlook it,”
said coach Jon-Michael
Nickerson. “We don’t wake
up for these early morning
workouts and practices for
nothing. We appreciate any
thing and everything we
earn.
The Patriots raced out to
a 9-0 lead, then withstood a
brief Saint rally. Vic
Newsom capped the quarter
by beating his man off an iso
play and dropping it in with
a finger roll to lead 23-10.
They kept firing, using
late three-pointers from
Amari Brown and Newsom
to build a commanding 37-
23 halftime lead.
The second half was
more of the same as they put
the game out of reach after
the break.
It was a balanced attack,
as Amari Brown led with 19
points, followed by Vic
Newsom with 18, Micah
Smith with 17, and Jaren Al
exander with 10.
The Patriot boys enter
the playoffs 21-6 overall.
They host Ringgold in
round one.
They’ve been the top-
ranked team in Class AAA
all season, and they have the
elusive first state champion
ship dead in their sights.
“This team is tough.
They play extremely hard,
and they are always striving
to play for one another. Our
practices have been ex
tremely competitive and
heated,” said Nickerson.
“We just have to continue to
focus on the present day.
Tomorrow can wait. Take
care of the present is our
mindset.”
Fayette's Flynn
Nets 500th Win
It was a historic night for Fay
ette County basketball. On top of
winning the region champion
ship to continue a streak of 23-
straight state playoff
appearances, boys’ Head Coach
Andre Flynn notched his 500th
career win.
“Itfeels great. I had no idea,”
said Flynn. “I appreciate all the
guys that helped me get to 500, all
the players and all the coaches.
It’s great, but it’s a team thing. ”
The win over Whitewater ran
Flynn’s career record as a coach
to a remarkable 500-201.
Mon-Sat: 10-7 • Sun: 12-5
35 Hudson Plaza • Fayetteville
Michael’s Shopping Center
770-460-7511
www.PlayltAgainSportsGa.com
Golf Equipment
For All Skill Levels
