ROCKDALE COUNTY – After the Thanksgiving holiday, Newton County teams made the short trip to Salem High School for the Mayhem Invitational. 

Boys and girls teams from Social Circle, Alcovy and Eastside were featured in the six-game showcase against Heritage, Rockdale County and Salem. Through the 10-hour stretch, Newton and Rockdale teams split the series 3-3.

The most thrilling portion of the invitational came in Game 2 when the Social Circle boys squad upset the Heritage Patriots after a go-ahead four-point play by Le’Son “Diesel” Nelson in overtime.

Elsewhere, the Lady Eagles and Lady Tigers pulled out narrow victories over the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Seminoles, respectively, in two back-and-forth contests. The Eagles boys squad also found themselves in a tight matchup against Salem to close out the evening, but ultimately fell short. 

The Lady Redskins and the Alcovy boys team did not fare as well with both losing in decisive fashion.

Game 1: Lady Redskins fall to Lady Patriots 52-28

The opening contest was not too kind to the Lady Redskins.

Entering the day on a four-game losing streak, the Lady Redskins looked to claim their first win since their opening contest. Instead, it was a decisive routing by the Heritage Lady Patriots that took home a commanding 52-28 victory.

The Lady Redskins kept it semi competitive in the early goings, only trailing 25-17 at the intermission period.

But it all fell apart in the third quarter as Social Circle was outscored 11-3. The Lady Patriots added on 16 more points to close out the game in decisive fashion at 52-28.

Despite the loss, Lady Redskins guard Brielle Price continued to stand out as a bright spot for the Lady Redskins. The junior was responsible for 14 of the team’s 28 total points.

Game 2: ‘Diesel’ Nelson nails go-ahead game winner to upset Patriots 61-60 in overtime

If the previous game was considered mundane, then game two proved to be anything but.

Immediately the Redskins and the Patriots traded buckets, with key contributors Braylon Dennis and Damien Phelps leading the charge. A late run by Heritage propelled the Patriots to a 13-10 lead to close out the first quarter.

Much of the same back-and-forth action continued throughout the second quarter, with each team trading scoring runs. In total, there were six lead changes in the first half, with the last one coming in the closing 90 seconds of the second quarter.

But Dennis remained undeterred, nailing a buzzer-beater to allow the Redskins to trail by just two heading into the break.

Phelps and Tivan Branch and Keanu Crump kept the momentum rolling for the ‘Skins, matching every bucket the Pats produced. This allowed the Skins’ to reclaim the lead at 32-31 with eight minutes remaining.

It seemed like Social Circle would pull away after Nelson began to heat up after a slow start. With two minutes remaining, the ‘Skins led 48-42.

But Heritage had other plans.

Junior Chace McKenzie, who’s in the midst of a breakout season for the Pats, brought the game within two. A costly foul by Social Circle allowed McKenzie to come back to the free-throw line to nail two critical shots to send the game to overtime at 50 apiece.

In the beginning of the four-minute overtime period, Nelson and Trey Camp struck first, giving the Redskins a four-point advantage. That, however, would soon be negated by McKenzie and Abel-Payton Thompson, who steered the game in Heritage’s favor.

Despite McKenzie fouling out, the Pats did enough to secure a 60-57 lead over the Redskins and close things out.

Or at least that’s what they thought.

With 4.1 seconds to go and the game on the line, Nelson did the unthinkable, nailing a stepback three-pointer as he was fouled to tie the game. The reigning All-Cov News Breakout Player of the Year sank his free throw to secure the upset 61-60 victory over the Pats.

Nelson finished with 16 points – with 15 of them coming in the second half – while Phelps and Branch finished with 13 and 10, respectively. McKenzie was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points.

Game 3: Lady Tigers continue hot streak with 43-40 victory over Lady Bulldogs

As the dust settled from the epic Social Circle-Heritage matchup, the tempo for the Alcovy Lady Tigers versus the Rockdale County Lady Bulldogs was a bit rustier. However, the Lady Tigers would muster some good offense, with contributions from freshman Miliani Baughns and Minah Little paving the way for an early 10-5 lead.

The second quarter was a different story, as the Lady Bulldogs would go on a 11-1 run to take control of the game. Sophomore Simaria Wilburn knocked down a jumpshot in the closing seconds to keep a manageable three-point deficit going into halftime.

An early three-pointer by Rockdale County seemed to foreshadow what was to come for the rest of the game. But that could not be further from the truth.

Instead, Wilburn, Boughs and Little would lead the Lady Tigers on a 10-0 run to regain control with a 32-24 lead.

Just as the Lady Tigers would take their biggest lead of the game by 12 points, Wilburn went down with an injury and did not return for the rest of the contest. That proved to have a lasting effect, as the Lady Bulldogs, led by Kamya Bryant, charged all the way back within one point.

But despite the Lady Bulldogs’ 16-point fourth quarter, the comeback proved to be too much, as the Lady Tigers came out with the 43-40 victory.

Baughns and Little led all scorers with 11 points.

Game 4: Tigers blown out by Bulldogs in 39-74 result

The largest margin of the invitational came just past the midway point as the Alcovy boys squad had no answers for the Rockdale County Bulldogs.

After junior standout Antoine Graves nailed the first bucket, it was almost all Rockdale County from that point forward. Five scorers contributed to the Bulldogs’ 21-point start, while the Tigers fell behind with just 10 points.

The Tigers would have their best offensive showing of the game in the second quarter, with Graves knocking down two shots from the three-point range. Kellin Hendrix and Immanuel Humphrey would get in on the action, too, adding to the 13-point effort.

That, again, was outdone by Rockdale County who added 19 points from six different players to enjoy a 40-23 lead to end the half.

With a large deficit, the Tigers needed a miracle in order to get back in the game. It never came, as Rockdale County outscored Alcovy 22-8 to increase the lead to 62-31 to end the quarter.

A shortened six-minute quarter allowed both teams to empty their benches, which saw another large scoring run for Rockdale County. The game ended on a logo buzzer-beater for a final score of 39-74.

Graves led all Tigers scorers with 12 points, while Kaden Clarke matched that total for Rockdale County. Kamarion Davis and Donovan Bish also scored double digits with 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Game 5: Lady Eagles defeat shorthanded Lady Seminoles in 47-44 nailbiter

The hometown Salem Lady Seminoles only had seven sitting players for Saturday’s contest. But those were enough players to keep things more than interesting.

Standout guard Loriel Smith set the pace early with five quick points for the Lady ‘Noles. But the Lady Eagles were able to match and then some with a 9-0 run by Nyla Smith, Donee Morain and Kam Davis.

Loriel Smith kept things alive for Salem, becoming a one-woman scoring machine and accounting for all 12 of the Lady Seminoles points in the first quarter.

A defensive-heavy second quarter saw  both teams match points at seven apiece, showing that this game was likely to come down to the wire, too. A three-pointer by Nyla Smith gave the Lady Eagles the go-ahead lead at 21-20 to enter the break.

Morain instantly capitalized on the momentum from the first half, notching four quick points. Salem then found its groove, charging back from a six-point deficit to overtake the lead on a 10-0 run.

The Lady Eagles remained undeterred and retook the lead by one point before the end of the third quarter thanks to a layup by De’Aysia Banks.

Nyla Smith and Davis opened things back up for the Lady Eagles, placing them in the driver's seat with time running out. That’s when Salem’s Allie Green stepped up, bringing the Noles’ back in striking distance.

But a heads up play by Ari Carter gave the Lady Eagles the game-clenching bucket to hold onto the win at 47-44.

Nyla Smith was the Lady Eagles’ leading scorer with 13 points, but it was Salem’s Loriel Smith who shined with a 25-point performance for the highest point total by an individual player at the invitational.

Game 6: Salem charges past Eastside 52-48 in fourth quarter come from behind

Both boys squads struggled in the first half, with the Eagles taking a 10-6 lead for the lowest-scoring first quarter in the entire invitational.

Jevon Sullivan began to break out from the pack in adding six of Eastside’s nine points in the second quarter. But the Seminoles were able to find a solid shooting rhythm, with Blake McKenzie and Armond Smith leading the hometown squad to a 22-19 lead at the half.

The Eagles got back in front in the third quarter, with veteran Josiah Johnson steadying the ship and adding seven points. Salem’s Nathaniel Edwards began to heat up, too, adding seven for Salem to keep the game within a four-point range going into the fourth quarter.

Roman Sullivan, Jevon Sullivan and Jordan Poole kept the momentum on the Eagles’ side for the first two minutes of the quarter. But the next four minutes belonged to Salem as Edwards and Smith led the Noles’ on a game-changing 9-0 run to take the lead at 48-42 with 2:00 to go.

As Eastside committed a turnover, Joseph Griffin missed a wide-open game -sealing dunk, which seemed to open the door for the Eagles.

Down by six, Jevon Sullivan nailed a crucial three-pointer to bring the game within three. After two more free throws by Salem, it was Poole’s turn to knock down a three, bringing the game to 48-50 with less than 10 seconds on the clock.

With an urgent need to stop the clock, the Eagles fouled Smith, who sank the game-clinching free throws to give Salem the 48-52 win.