SHELLMAN —
The Highland Christian boys basketball team defeated Randolph Southern 81-67 on Friday night.
Tucker Bruce had a big night, scoring a game-high 31 points for the Eagles.
Highland Christian started slowly, and fell behind by as many as 15 points early in the second quarter.
One minute before halftime, Jaylen Hiller converted two foul shots, then Wesley Robinson stole the inbounds pass and hit Tucker Bruce for a quick layup to cut the Eagles’ deficit to nine points at the half.
Then, according to head coach Joel Stites, something changed with his squad at halftime.
“I got on them and challenged them. We hadn’t played well the last six quarters, and we had to start playing our game,” Stites said.
The Eagles responded. They quickly erased the Patriots’ nine-point lead in the third quarter, behind a balanced scoring attack and stellar defense.
“Casey Conn, Julius King and Wesley Robinson shut their guys down. They had some juice in them,” Stites said.
Highland Christian outscored Randolph Southern by 23 points in the second half, 52-29, and rallied for a 14-point victory.
Hiller scored 21 points for Highland Christian and Dusty Thomas added 19 points.
The Eagles are now 2-2 in region play.
Highland will face Randolph Southern again on Tuesday, this time at the Pinevale Learning Center in Valdosta.
Local Sports
Highland Christian defeats Randolph Southern, 81-67
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VSU will face Stillman College, which lost to No. 1 seed and tournament host Tampa Thursday, Friday at 11 a.m. to advance to the weekend portion of the tournament. The loser will be eliminated. - More Local Sports Headlines
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