VALDOSTA —
Valdosta’s boys basketball team came alive in the fourth quarter, and rallied for a 50-40 victory over Brooks County on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats outscored Brooks 24-9 in the fourth quarter, and turned a five-point deficit into a 10-point win.
“I’m happy for the win. You’ll take a win any way you can get it,” Valdosta head coach Antonio Haynes said. “Bizarre win, but it’s a win.”
Brooks County had taken the lead with an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter, and Valdosta started the fourth quarter trailing 31-26.
Valdosta’s Terrance Foster started the period with two free throws. Sixty-nine seconds later, Clarence Smith scored on a putback. Brooks County was called for a double dribble, then Rashad Lewis drove the lane for a layup, giving the Wildcats a 32-31 lead. Brooks’ Deric Herring scored, but then Lewis drove for another layup and made two free throws on the Wildcats’ next two possessions, giving Valdosta the lead for good.
Shortly after that, Dominique Bullock and Smith made three-pointers, then Lewis made three free throws, extending Valdosta’s lead to 45-36 with 1:55 left in the game. In the final minute, Taylor made three free throws and Lewis had a layup to help seal the victory for the Wildcats.
Haynes started five guys who are normally reserves. Those guys gave Valdosta an early 9-6 lead before exiting with 3:40 left in the period.
“They’ve really been working hard in practice, and I wanted to reward them,” Haynes said.
Brooks came back and tied the game at 13-13 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, after both teams scored an early basket, Brooks County got the ball and held it for most of the quarter. Valdosta sat back on defense and let them run down most of the clock. The two teams headed to the locker room tied 15-15.
Lewis scored all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. Norman Taylor scored nine points and Colin Kirkpatrick added eight. Malcolm Parrish led Brooks with 16 points, while Tim Rose had 11.
Valdosta will host Tift County in a big Region 1-AAAAA game on Friday night.
“It’s a big one. I can’t wait,” Haynes said. “I need Valdosta Wildcat fans to be in the gym Friday night. I want black and gold throughout, because we’re going to need our fans to rally behind us and help us get this victory.”
Valdosta girls 63, Brooks 46
Valdosta’s girls jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter, outscoring Brooks 14-3, and stayed on top the rest of the game.
Brooks came back in the second quarter, and cut the Lady Wildcats’ lead down to six at halftime, 23-17. But Valdosta pushed its advantage back into double digits in the third quarter, when it outscored the Lady Trojans 25-14. Heading into the final period, Valdosta led 48-31.
Valdosta extended its lead to as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter, and never let Brooks get any closer than 15 points.
Sierra Foster led Valdosta with 13 points. Stormm Phillips scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Kaneshia Kimbrough added 10 points.
Jasmine Mapp led Brooks with 20 points. Ashley Clemons added 13 points. Mapp, Clemons and Carrie Grisson combined for 42 of the Lady Trojans’ 46 points.
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