VALDOSTA —
After being swept by region foe Tift County last Friday night, the Lowndes varsity basketball teams closed out their home schedules with a sweep of Coffee Tuesday night.
The Vikettes started the night with a 44-32 win, while the Vikings closed out the night with a 64-57 win over the Trojans.
“We came out like we were ready,” Lowndes boys head coach Kingston Clark said. “Senior night. The last time we could play in front of our home fans and the kids responded well.”
The Vikings dominated the majority of the game, building a lead as large as 24 points late in the third quarter, before giving way to a massive Coffee run in the fourth quarter.
After Lowndes took a 48-26 lead on its first possession of the quarter, Coffee used a 12-0 run to close within 10, before Lowndes’ Tremayne Tippins made a basket to end the run.
The Vikings pushed their lead back to 16 points, 54-38, and maintained their double-digit lead until Coffee made the score 63-55 with less than a minute remaining. The Trojans’ comeback came too late, as Lowndes was able to burn nearly 35 seconds off the clock with clean passing around the perimeter, securing the win.
With the win, Lowndes will likely avoid being the dreaded sixth or seventh seed, which will play Monday in the Region 1-6A tournament play-in game. A win over Camden County on Friday will secure the Vikings’ position in the top five and guarantee them a game Tuesday night.
“It was a major win,” Clark said. “Helps us stay out of the play-in game. Hopefully we can go over there in Camden and take care of business as well. It would be huge momentum going into the region tournament.”
Justin Williams led the Vikings off to a quick start in Tuesday’s win. Williams sank three straight 3-pointers to begin the game, before adding three more points on a free throw and a two-point field goal later in the quarter. Lowndes led 14-5 at the end of the first quarter.
“I told (Justin), as well as the other seniors, ‘Go out and make a statement tonight,’” Clark said. “He said ‘Coach, I’m going to make a statement.’ And he did. He came out big.”
The Vikings continue to pile it on in the second quarter, building a 29-14 lead at intermission.
In the third quarter, senior Larry Brown rattled the time and Justin Williams drained a pair of 3-pointers to give the Vikings a lead as large as 24 points.
Williams led all scorers with 24 points, while Brown finished with 13. Tippins contributed with 10 for the Vikings.
Lowndes girls 44, Coffee 32
Entering Tuesday night’s game, the Lowndes Vikettes were looking as though they were going to have to play in the region play-in game next Monday at Valdosta High School.
The Vikettes could help their cause with a pair of wins to end the regular season. On Tuesday, they helped their case.
Lowndes’ girls’ basketball team picked up a much-needed Region 1-6A victory, beating the Coffee Lady Trojans 44-32.
Although it was Senior Night, junior Tashia Brown led the way for the Vikettes. Brown scored a team-high 17 points as trailed for less than one-minute inside the second quarter.
Lowndes took the lead midway through the first quarter, using a pair of buckets from Brown on back-to-back possessions to take an 8-4 lead.
From there, Lowndes was able to push its lead to five in the closing seconds of the opening quarter. After falling behind by two with two minutes remaining in the first half, the Vikettes used five straight points from Brown and a basket from Haddin at the end of the half to build a 20-15 lead.
In the second half, Lowndes added to its lead. The Vikettes build a lead as large as 10 in the third quarter and as large as 14 in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, TeTe Wilson caught fire from 3-point range. Wilson scored eight of Lowndes’ 11 points in the quarter.
Wilson finished with 11 points for Lowndes, while Coretta Haddin finished with nine points in her final home game as a Vikette. A’Tyanna Gaulden finished with a game-high 18 points to lead Coffee.
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Related Photos
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Lowndes’ Kenny Moore goes up through traffic during Tuesday night’s game against Coffee. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
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Lowndes’ TeTe Wilson drives the baseline in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the Coffee Lady Trojans. The Vikettes won 44-32. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
LHS sweeps Coffee
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