COVINGTON, Ga. — The Alcovy boys’ and girls’ basketball teams played their third region game of the season Tuesday as they hosted Region 3-AAAAAA opponent Evans at home.

Though there was a big scoring difference between the two contests, the host team fell short in both games of the doubleheader.

Evans Girls 35, Alcovy Girls 30

The Lady Tigers came up short in the second half against the tough Evans team as the Lady Knights mounted a comeback late in the final two quarters.

Alcovy opened the game with good momentum as they continued to get after the ball and rack up the steal totals. They led the game, 11-8, after one quarter.

“[The team] is starting to learn the effort that it takes to be a good team,” Alcovy head coach Justin Hunter said. “We just need that effort in all four quarters.”

In the second quarter, the Lady Tigers continued to have the same intensity on defense and were able to take a 18-13 advantage going into the break.

The second half slowly showed the Lady Knights beginning to take over. Evans started the third quarter shooting seven-of-eight from the field, while the Lady Tigers began to fall deeper.

A late rally by the Alcovy eventually fell short as they suffered a five-point defeat at the hands of the visiting Lady Knights.

Natalya McKenzie and Joselyn Branch led the Lady Tigers offensively as both of the sophomores put up eight points.

Alcovy will look to end its five-game skid when it takes on the Heritage Lady Patriots (6-3, 0-1) later this week on Friday, Jan. 15. 

“[Throughout the rest of the year] I want to see the growth, improvement, progression, and execution in the game,” Hunter said.

Evans Boys 78, Alcovy Boys 63

The Tigers were outplayed Tuesday night in the region matchup as the Knights were able to execute on all aspects of the court.

The game started off fast right from the opening tip as both teams began to show how physical they were going to be.

At the end of the first quarter, the Knights were handling the game well as they held a 28-12 lead, and much would not change in the following eight minutes as they would take a 48-21 lead going into the break.

“We knew what [Evans] could do shooting and at the end of the day some of the plans we had in place did not match up with the intensity that we brought on the court,” head coach Mack Hardwick said.

Even with the Knights not letting off the gas on offense, senior Trevon Howze began to cut through the Evans defense late in the game. He provided a much-needed offensive surge for the Tigers.

Howze would get to the line five times in the final quarter and finish the game with 20 points after not scoring once in the first two quarter of the game. 

“That is what we expect from Trevon. He is a talented senior,” Hardwick said. “He can drive left and right, and he shoots well, he has multiple threats.”

Even after the tough loss, Hardwick still sees what this team can be and believes simple adjustments can make the club a whole new threat.

“[Tonight] is just one of those things where we need to play a complete game,” Hardwick said. “If we play a complete game, we win today, and when we do not play to the level of intensity we can play at this is what happens.”

Alcovy will travel to play the Heritage Patriots (9-5, 2-0) on Friday, Jan. 15, as they look to climb back up the ranks of Region 3-AAAAAA.