COVINGTON, Ga. — Both of the Eastside hoops squads went up against the Druid Hills Red Devils in a rescheduled Region 4-AAAA game on Saturday. The Eagles ended up splitting the afternoon’s action, with the girls in particular, staying in the hunt for a state tournament berth.
Lady Eagles lock into third in Region 4-AAAA with win
Eastside 56, Lady Red Devils 32
The Lady Eagles found their groove in the third quarter of the game. Increasing its lead, Eastside took advantage of getting sent to the free throw line eight times, going 10-for-12. It helped shake off some early game rust.
"Being off four or five games hurts," said Eastside head coach Gladys King. "The girls hadn't had a chance to get in and shoot around and move around. I'm sure they weren't shooting around in the driveway in the snow. Once we got going in the second half. We came back and picked it up a bit. It had a lot to do with my substitutions (in the first half). I was trying to make sure everyone had a chance to get out there and shoot. It wasn't the right combination of players (in the first half)."
The final quarter belonged to the Lady Red Devils, though, as they turned up their offensive heat. Druid Hills tried to enlist the help of Tre’Kiya Calloway 3-pointers to close the gap, but she was only able to sink one. Jayla Thompson also sunk a 3-pointer in the quarter. However, the Lady Eagles’ lead was too large ending the game 56-32.
Sophomore Alysee Dobbs (16 points), T’Niah Douglas (14 points) and Nia Davis (12 points) lead the charge for the home team, while Thompson was the top scorer for Druid Hills.
In the first half of the game, the Druid Hills got off to a late start getting on the scoreboard with 1:43 left in the first frame. Thompson went 1-for-2 at the free throw line.
This became a trend for the Lady Red Devils as they — particularly Kayla Dorsett and Thompson — made the majority of their points at the charity stripe.
The opposite of Druid Hills, Eastside acquired most of their points in the first half from 3-pointers. Dobbs, Douglas and Sidney Taylor sunk those baskets.
The first and second quarter provided a lot of back and fourth between the two teams in fast-paced action. The half ended with the Lady Eagles in the lead, 17-10.
Eastside Boys
Druid Hills 51, Eastside 33
Eastside (3-14, 1-7) seemed to slow down in the third quarter, having little offensive activity, after starting relatively well. Dai’Veon Robinson had a highlight in the third frame when he stole the ball from Druid Hills’ (8-8, 6-2). He then passed it to Jerry Mays II, who sank a long range jumper.
Three 3-pointers from the Eagles couldn’t help them catch up to the Red Devils. The majority of Druid Hills’ 17 points in the fourth quarter came from under the rim.
Earlier, in the first half, Eastside turned up the heat just before halftime as Drew Perry sunk two 3-pointers with ease back-to-back-. Perry’s second 3-pointer, at the 1:51 mark closed Druid Hill’s lead to 15-13. Druid Hills matched Eastside’s heat as it closed the first half with an 8-1 run to jump ahead 21-14.
Eastside found itself behind in the first quarter, and Red Devils defense looked as if it was unaffected by the days off. Druid Hills to a low score as well but couldn’t keep the ball away from Marcus Douglas and Maliek Sadler.
However, it was Druid Hills’ Matthew Guthrie (game-high 18 points) who was the top scorer of the night. He paced Druid Hills to the win, while Perry (nine points) and Robinson (eight points) led the Eagles.
Both teams will host Woodward Academy on Tuesday, starting with girls action at 6 p.m.
