VALDOSTA — Lowndes’ basketball teams began the Randall Godfrey Christmas Classic with wins on Saturday.

Lowndes’ girls knocked off previously-undefeated Allatoona 43-36. Then Lowndes’ boys routed Fitzgerald 83-46 in the final game of the day.

After taking today off, the Randall Godfrey Christmas Classic will continue with eight games on Monday  and six games on Tuesday at Lowndes’ gym.



Lowndes boys 83, Fitzgerald 46

For the second time in five days, Lowndes’ boys dominated, beating Fitzgerald by 37 points in what may have been their best performance of the season so far.

The Vikings took control of the game early, and outscored the Purple Hurricanes in every quarter.

“I think (the players) are coming together as a unit a whole lot better,” Lowndes head coach Kingston Clark said. “We had a great overall team effort.”

Two minutes into the game, the Vikings went on a 9-0 run that turned a 5-4 lead into a 14-4 lead. Justin Williams, who scored Lowndes’ first seven points on Saturday, scored on a layup off a pass from Alan Urrutia. Jeremy Henderson scored on consecutive possessions. Two free throws by Caleb Austin and one by Williams made it 14-4. The Vikings led 18-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Ninety-nine seconds into the second quarter, the Vikings got hot again, and went on a 10-0 run, with baskets by Tremayne Tippins and Larry Brown, two free throws by Williams and two buckets by Marlon Nichols. The run gave Lowndes a 31-15 lead. Later in the period, three-pointers by Kenny Moore, Josh Cooper and Urrutia helped the Vikings take a 40-25 halftime lead.

Lowndes started the second half with an 8-2 run, then later in the third quarter, went on a 9-0 run, which helped the Vikings extend their lead to 21 points, 61-40, after three periods.

Then the Vikings dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Fitzgerald 22-4 in the first 7:45 of the period. Six different Lowndes players scored in the fourth quarter, and the team’s defense held the Purple Hurricanes to just two field goals.

“That fourth quarter, I thought we did an excellent job of defending,” Clark said. “There were about four minutes where they didn’t score a point.”

Williams led the Vikings with 20 points, 11 of them in the first quarter, and also had five steals. Tippins scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Lowndes played 14 players on Saturday, and all 14 of them scored points.

Lowndes (6-3) will host Ware County (4-0) on Monday at 8:30 p.m. The Gators beat the Vikings 52-51 on Dec. 3, making the winning shot at the buzzer.



Lowndes girls 43, Allatoona 36

Lowndes’ girls took control of their game in the third quarter, built a double-digit lead and improved to 9-0 with a seven-point win over Allatoona.

The 10th-ranked Vikettes led for the final 28 minutes of the game, by as many as 16 points, and only trailed for 18 seconds (when the score was 2-0).

“You can’t be disappointed in 9-0,” Lowndes head coach Shan Garner said. “I’m pleased. I think we’re on the right track.”

Lowndes’ girls started to take control of the game in the third quarter, when they outscored the Lady Buccaneers 11-3.

The Vikettes began the second half with an 18-14 lead. Tashia Brown’s basket, a free throw by Kenya Durden and a jumper by Maggie McGlamry increased Lowndes’ lead to nine points. Allatoona’s Elise Spann drove the lane for a layup, but that would be the Lady Buccaneers’ only basket of the quarter. Then the 5-foot-4 McGlamry jumped, blocked a shot, grabbed the ball and raced down the court for a layup. After a Spann free throw, Lowndes closed out the period with a Courtne Washington putback and a Durden layup, and headed into the fourth quarter with a 29-17 lead.

The Vikettes built on that lead early in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of the first 12 points of the period. Brown’s basket with 4:34 left in the game gave the Vikettes their biggest lead of the night, 37-21.

Allatoona went on a late run, and got within seven points with seven seconds left, but the outcome had long been decided by then.

In the first quarter, Lowndes took the lead with a 6-0 run, then had a 7-0 run late in the quarter, and led 13-6 after eight minutes. Allatoona scored the first six points of the second quarter, cutting the Vikettes’ lead to 13-12, but Lowndes’ Natalia Adams answered with a three-pointer. The Vikettes led 18-14 at halftime.

Brown and Washington led the Vikettes with 12 points apiece. Adams added eight.

“Courtne and Tashia came up big for us late. Natalia Adams hit a couple of threes,” Garner said.

Spann scored 17 points for Allatoona, while Alexis Ezell added 14. Those two players combined for 31 of the Lady Bucs’ 36 points.

Lowndes’ girls will face Brunswick on Monday at 7 p.m.



Lanier County boys 68, Coffee 45

Lanier County dominated the final 26 minutes of play on Saturday, and beat Coffee by 23 points.

Emmanuel Ezoua led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Malik Kone scored 18 points, and Anthony Edmond added 11. Lanier, the No. 6 team in Class A, is now 8-0 this season, and has wins over AAAAA schools Lowndes and Coffee.

With two minutes left in the first quarter, Coffee held a 13-8 lead. But then Lanier got hot. The Bulldogs scored seven straight points to close out the quarter, and took a 15-13 lead on Edmond’s basket with five seconds left in the quarter. They would hold the lead the rest of the game.

The Bulldogs continued their run in the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the period to complete a 13-0 run. That gave them a 21-13 lead. They increased their lead to as many as 13 points in the period, and headed to the locker room at halftime with a 12-point lead, 34-22.

Lanier continued to build on its lead in the third quarter, outscoring Coffee 20-11. The Bulldogs led 54-33 after three quarters, and cruised to a 23-point win.

D.J. Wiley led Coffee with 12 points.

Lanier will face Valdosta on Monday at 5:30 p.m. and Lowndes on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.