COVINGTON, Ga. — Eastside had the upper-hand over Social Circle on the basketball court once again on Saturday as the Eagles left with a sweep at home.

One day after completing a sweep over the Heritage Patriots, Eastside stayed in its winning ways as the Lady Eagles won 38-27 before the boys team defeated the Redskins 69-47.

For Eastside’s girls team, it was their third consecutive win over Social Circle while the boys team picked up its third in a row.

Lady Eagles close in and take control in the second half

The first varsity matchup of the day featured a Lady Eagles team with momentum against a Social Circle team that was still searching for success.

Going into Saturday, Social Circle’s girls team lost 10 of its first 13 games and was in the middle of a three-game skid.

However, the Lady Redskins faced another tough task in the form of the Lady Eagles, who kept Social Circle under 30 points for the first time in five games.

Social Circle was the one that found itself ahead early as an early free throw from Jermeria Cost led to a three-ball from Brielle Price that made it a 4-0 run to start.

However, a three-pointer later in the frame from Jarilix Rivera tied it at 4-4 and started a long back-and-forth between the two teams.

Up 9-6 late in the first, a string of points from Cost and Kyla Head gave the Lady Redskins a 13-6 lead after the opening quarter.

The second quarter was not a particularly strong one from the Lady Redskins, but they did enough to the lead at the break. 

The main reason is that the Lady Eagles found themselves in a shooting slump as the team attempted to come back.

Eastside only shot 2-of-14 from the field in the second frame, but still managed to pull within three points as the team scored four points at the line, too.

Social Circle led 17-14 at the half, but that quickly changed.

The Lady Eagles erupted in the third quarter and made four of their first five shots to take a 23-17 lead in no time.

Ari Carter played a pivotal role to get Eastside back in the game as she was responsible for over half of the team’s early points in the half.

As the third quarter progressed, the Lady Eagles out-shot Social Circle by a wide margin as the Lady Redskins were unable to find open shots and lanes to the basket.

With Eastside’s defense at its best, the Lady Eagles stretched the lead.

Although Eastside did not shoot the ball well in the third quarter, the team entered the final frame with a 26-18 lead and with all the momentum.

Price tried her best to stop Eastside on defense as she grabbed a pair of blocks early in the final frame, but a strong and-one play from Kamryn Davis stole the energy right back.

On the next Eastside possession, Nyla Smith knocked down a three-pointer off an assist from Davis to make it a 32-18 lead.

Eastside how all the momentum, and the Lady Redskins were simply unable to shoot their way out of it.

Price hit a deep three on what was the final shot of the game, but the Lady Eagles managed to leave with a 38-27 win over a cross-county foe.

For Eastside’s girls team, the win moved their record to 6-4 on the season as the team still stands at 1-1 in Region 8-AAAA play.

The Lady Redskins moved to 3-11 on the season and have yet to begin Region 4A-Division I play.

Smith’s 10 points led the Lady Eagles while Rivera finished with eight in the win. Morain and Carter both finished with seven points.

Many Lady Redskins got in the mix for first-year head coach Gracie Brunel, but Cost and Price led the way with eight points apiece.

Eagles ride strong team effort to big win over Redskins

The game was never out-of-hand for Eastside on Saturday when it came time for the boys matchup.

The Eagles got their shooting started early and never stopped on their way to a 69-47 win over Social Circle.

By the end of the matchup, multiple Eastside players found themselves in double-digits despite the absence of star junior Christian Gatewood.

Gatewood patrols as one of the team’s largest players, but his loss did not impact the Eagles’ ability to dominate on the defensive end.

The boy’s matchup started with a long list of baskets from both sides.

After an opening layup from Social Circle’s Keanu Crump, Roman Sullivan returned to the other end to knock down a three-pointer that gave Eastside the lead.

Two more baskets from Social Circle led to two more for Eastside — before everyone knew it, the game was tied 9-9 in an instant.

However, a pair of converted shots from Jevon Sullivan and Jordan Poole gave Eastside a 13-9 lead.

From then on, it was all Eastside.

Early on into the second quarter, Eastside’s 13-9 lead stretched out to 26-15 as Iverson Freeman’s sharpshooting and athleticism began to play a factor.

As the Eagles soared, the shooting started to fall off for the Redskins as they tried to keep it close.

By the end of the half, Eastside completed a 27-3 run that was dominated by strong play from Freeman and Keyon “KD” Davis.

Freeman knocked down a trio of key shots while Davis proved to be automatic from the free throw line and the field.

After quick baskets from Sullivan brothers to open the second half, it was clear that Eastside’s momentum did not slow down one bit.

Social Circle’s Le’Son “Diesel” Nelson did his best to take open shots and try to get the ‘Skins back into the action, but the Eagles scoring was relentless.

After a quiet first half, senior Josiah Johnson converted back-to-back and-one plays as Eastside’s lead toppled the 30-point mark.

Social Circle started off the final frame three-for-three, but the Eagles continued to answer with more shots of their own.

Braylon Dennis began to knock down all of his shots late in the game as the 6-foot-2 junior showed his upside both in-and-out of the paint.

Despite late three-pointers from Nelson and Dennis, Eastside pulled away with a 69-47 win at home.

Multiple Eagles scored over 10 points, but Freeman and Jevon led the way with 15 points each. Roman followed with 13 points while Johnson and Davis each finished with 11.

For the Redskins, Dennis led the way with 12 points while Damien Phelps and Nelson finished with 11 and nine points, respectively.

Eastside increased its regular season record to 7-4 while the team sits at 1-1 in Region 8-AAAA play.

Social Circle’s boys team fell to 4-6 with the loss as they await their region opener for Region 4A-Division I.

What’s Next

The Lady Eagles will take on Loganville on the road on Saturday, Dec. 27. Eastside’s boys team will take on Warren Central in the Rocky Top Sports World Event on Monday, Dec. 29. 

Both Social Circle teams will take on Apalachee at home on Tuesday, Dec. 23.