COVINGTON, Ga. — It was a rough go for both Alcovy basketball squads Friday night against Rockdale County. Neither offense never seemed to find any consistency and, therefore, the Tigers suffered losses at home.
Alcovy Girls
The Lady Tigers dropped the season series against the Bulldogs with a 74-38 loss Friday night.
In the midst of a race for the fourth playoff spot, the Lady Tigers find themselves in a spot where every win or loss can dictate if they are able to make the state tournament.
After falling to Rockdale County 83-37 in their first matchup, the Lady Tigers needed a big night from their key players if they wanted to get even with the Lady Bulldogs.
Unfortunately for Alcovy, the inconsistency on offense did not pair well with the success that the Bulldogs had from the perimeter as the Lady Tigers suffered the same fate as they did earlier in the season.
The Lady Bulldogs were able to get a quick lead and never looked back as they seemed to always be a step ahead of the Lady Tigers offensively.
Danielle Carnegie and Lia Edwards led the charge for the Lady Bulldogs, with the two gashing Alcovy in all four quarters.
The Lady Bulldogs came out of halftime with the momentum still on their side. Carnegie’s 13 points in the third quarter put the dagger in the game.
Despite the struggles on offense, Dkhya Rudder was able to get into double digits with 13 points. However, the senior was one bright spot offensively for the Lady Tigers.
The win allowed the Lady Bulldogs to add separation between them and the Lady Tigers. Alcovy is currently in fifth place in the region standings.
The Lady Tigers will continue their push for the coveted playoff spot on Tuesday as they go on the road to play Woodward Academy.
Alcovy Boys
The Tigers came out empty handed Friday night after losing a close region matchup to Rockdale County. Rockdale County avenged their loss earlier in the season by taking down the Tigers by a score of 59-51.
After defeating the Bulldogs earlier in the year, head coach Mack Hardwick needed the team to replicate that performance from early December in order for his team to stay in contention for a spot at the region crown.
Shortly after the ball was tipped off, Alcovy’s Kendarrius Spears and Nick Durham began to make plays for the Tigers on offense.
The pair were able to get to the rim and convert numerous times throughout the first half as the Bulldogs struggled to stop the two inside.
By halftime, Spears and Durham had accounted for half of Alcovy’s points as both teams were keeping it close.
Despite keeping the game close, Hardwick felt there was still a lot left on the court that was not accomplished, particularly on offense.
“[We need to] play together and trust each other. We need to make sure that we give each other things to trust when it comes to finishing layups or boxing out and getting those rebounds,” Hardwick said.
One big reason that the Bulldogs were able to stay in the game was Chase Hill, who made it his mission to get to the free throw line often.
Hill got to the line seven times in the first half, which played a big role in his team-leading 14 points at halftime.
The Bulldogs trailed by a small amount for the majority of the first half but were able to gain the lead right before halftime to go into the break with a 30-27 lead.
Despite the Tigers tying the game on the first possession of the third quarter on a three-pointer from Durham, the Tigers were not able to gain the lead for the remainder of the game. They continued to be a few points behind the Bulldogs.
Hill continued his scoring into the third and fourth quarters as he was able to give Rockdale County just enough separation to outlast the offensive output of the Tigers who were still being led by solid games from Spears and Durham.
Turnovers, combined with a few hiccups on the transition, allowed the Bulldogs to take a larger lead in the final minute.
Durham led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points while Spears finished right behind with 13.
Following the loss, Hardwick spoke how he needs to see more consistency on offense from the entire team in order for Alcovy to finish strong.
“Offensively, we did not play team-ball tonight,” Hardwick said. “Rockdale coach [Anthony Thomas] has a good coaching IQ so he knew exactly what to do when we were not play together and he took advantage of that.”
The Tigers are still in contention to play for a region title as they are among the top four teams for Region 3-AAAAAA.
As Alcovy looks to win in order to stay in, they will have a tough task ahead as they go on the road to take on Woodward Academy on Tuesday, January 31.
