COVINGTON, Ga. — On Saturday, the Eastside Eagles and the Alcovy Tigers took the county rivalry to the hardwood. In the end, it was the Eastside girls team and the Alcovy boys team that came away with victories at Alcovy High.

Eastside Eagles vs Alcovy Tigers

The matchup between the Alcovy and Eastside boys’ teams delivered to the final minute.

Ultimately, it was Alcovy that came away with the 55-52 win in its home opener.

As the game remained close as the minutes ticked off, the game came down to the free-throw line.

An offensive foul by the Eagles late allowed Alcovy’s Tim Walls to shoot from the free-throw line with a one-point lead.

Walls knocked down one-of-two free throws to make it a three-point game in the final seconds.

On Eastside’s next possession, the shot bounced off the rim to put the final touches on Alcovy’s narrow victory.

Following the opening tipoff, it was the Eagles that pushed the pace to start the game.

After Eastside moved ahead with a 6-0 lead, Alcovy responded with a trio of three pointers from Andre Jernigan and Nick Durham.

From then on, the back and forth game commenced.

Both teams traded baskets throughout the first half as Alcovy’s arena began to come to life with the Tigers’ student section leading the charge.

Following the game, Alcovy head coach Taylor Jackson was ecstatic with the atmosphere of the Tigers’ first home game of the season.

“It was so much fun, and it is going to keep on improving,” Jackson said, “We have a huge one Tuesday, I expect a lot of people here to watch us play Rockdale. It was huge for us to play in front of that crowd in a high pressure environment.”

Durham gave the Tigers separation in the second quarter.

The junior guard knocked down three shots from the perimeter on his way to a 10-point frame.

For the Eagles, Jayvon Johnson controlled the pace for head coach Dorrian Randolph’s team.

Johnson’s 12 points led Eastside through the first two quarters.

With the Eagles gaining momentum, Jernigan grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in late in the quarter to give Alcovy a 31-25 lead going into halftime.

With one more half left to play, the game stayed close.

Halfway through the third quarter, the Eagles took the lead back. Five different Eastside players found the basket in the third frame, giving the Eagles life.

Late in the quarter, key blocks from Alcovy on the defensive end allowed them to grab a 41-37 lead going into the final frame.

To start the final eight minutes, Eastside tied it on a three pointer from Trebor Edwards.

The two teams played close for the final quarter before the Tigers escaped with a three-point win.

Johnson led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points. 

For the Tigers, Durham’s 17 points led the way.

The win moves the Tigers to 5-2 on the year following back-to-back region losses to Jonesboro and Woodward Academy. 

“We have tough and talented kids — they have really run through a gauntlet this week,” Jackson said. “We played No. 5 Jonesboro Tuesday and No. 2 Woodward Academy Thursday. We were in those games at halftime, but we had some things go haywire in the third. We just learned from them. Eastside kept on making a push but our guys kept on coming back and we are getting there.”

The Tigers will be back at home for a Region 3-AAAAAA matchup with Rockdale County Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Eastside’s loss moves them to 2-2 on the year. Randolph and the Eagles will begin their region slate Friday, Dec. 8 against Loganville.

Lady Eagles vs Lady Tigers

The Lady Eagles earned their fourth consecutive win Saturday afternoon with a 71-33 rout of the Lady Tigers. 

For Eastside, it was about capitalizing on Alcovy’s mistakes while limiting ones of its own.

From the first quarter onward, it accomplished just that as the Lady Tigers struggled to hold onto the ball.

Turnovers led to Alcovy going scoreless through the first three minutes of Saturday’s game. By the time the Lady Tigers put the ball in the hoop for the first time, they trailed 6-1.

The mistakes lingered into the second quarter for the Lady Tigers as bad passes and miscues on the dribble allowed the Lady Eagles to get more scoring opportunities.

Multiple Eastside players contributed offensively in the first half, leading to a 30-10 advantage for the Lady Eagles going into halftime.

Coming out of the intermission, Donee Morain and Janae Hutcherson took the game over for their respective teams.

Hutcherson’s eight points led the Lady Tigers in the frame, while Morain’s 16 points allowed Eastside to gain more separation. 

Lady Eagles head coach Gladys King had nothing but great things to say about Morian after the game.

“She [Donee] is awesome,” King said. “She is tough. She has heart and she is going to give 110 percent every night. It does not matter if she is scoring on the offensive end or she is making up for it on the defensive end.”

Another key area for Eastside was its efficiency on the offensive and defensive rebounds.

King knew that the team’s effort on defense allowed them an opportunity to take the game over on Saturday.

“Like I told the girls, ‘Defense wins ball games,’” King said. “I have told them that we have to pick up our defense. There were a few games earlier in the year where we did not play good defense — we just traded baskets with teams. Tonight, toning down on our turnovers forced theirs.”

After scoring 22 points in the third quarter, Eastside put up another 19 in the final frame to defeat Alcovy.

Morain’s 24 points led the Lady Eagles in their win. For Alcovy, Hutcherson led the way with 13 points.

The win moves the Lady Eagles to a 4-1 record on the year. Eastside will be back in action for its region opener Friday, Dec. 8 versus the Loganville Lady Red Devils.

For the Lady Tigers, the loss drops them down to 2-4 on the year with a 0-2 record in Region 3-AAAAAA. Alcovy will return region play Tuesday, Dec. 5 against the Rockdale County Lady Bulldogs.