COVINGTON, Ga. — Ahead of the snowy conditions this past weekend, the Newton Rams continued to play red hot basketball. Both the boys and girls squads secured important region victories on Friday night as the regular season approaches its conclusion.

After a slow start, the Lady Rams outmaneuvered a short-handed Lady Patriots team, winning 55-20. On the boys side, the game was far more competitive. But in the end, the ex-Patriot turned Ram, Jared White, led the Rams to a 50-44 victory.

Newton continues hot streak, gets over .500 for first time this season

Newton’s last loss came to Heritage by 14 points on Jan. 6. But the Rams haven’t lost since, and they weren’t looking to lose on Friday.

It took some time for both teams to settle in, with both teams experiencing some opening game jitters. The first big play came from junior Braylon Miller, who knocked down a tough layup while being fouled.

Both teams played equal basketball, with no true advantage. That was until junior Chace McKenzie knocked a buzzer-beater three-pointer for the Patriots to end the first quarter.

McKenzie picked right back up, tying the game at 12 apiece with 7:47 left in the second quarter. But the Rams didn’t let this go in vain, as Miller and Landon Garrick kept the momentum rolling.

Then, White saw his first major impact of the game, delivering an open one-handed dunk to give the Rams a 10-point lead. The half ended with Abel Payton-Thompson bringing the Patriots within eight points for a score of 27-19.

Newton failed to match their intensity from the second quarter, committing several turnovers. This paved the way for a Heritage run, capped off by a dunk from Payton-Thompson. Seconds later, Jayden Ceasar converted a hard layup, drawing the foul in the process.

With Newton only up by two, Miller got the Rams back on the right track with a quick bucket. Sophomore reserve Emmanuel Wilder added four more points in limited minutes, giving the Rams a 39-33 lead to close out the third quarter.

As the intensity heated up in the gym, the fourth quarter turned into the battle between White and Jule Williams. White knocked down two three-pointers, while Williams kept making plays of his own on the opposite end of the floor.

With the game within three points, Williams and the Pats had a chance to tie things up with time expiring. But a costly turnover handed the ball back to the Rams.

A second turnover by Heritage sealed the Patriots fate, giving the Rams their fifth straight win.

White led the team with 20 points, adding another notch to his strong senior campaign. Miller added eight points, while freshman standout Kingston Clahar scored seven points. 

Williams led the Patriots with 13 points and McKenzie nabbed 12 points.

At 10-9, Newton is over the .500 mark for the first time all season. It’s been a rough go at times for the Rams, who were the state runner-ups last season, but head coach Barry Browner has an optimistic lookout for the rest of the year.

“All my coaches are saying the same thing – we’re peaking at the right time,” Browner said.

There will be no rest for the weary, as the Rams will travel to face Archer on Feb. 6. After that, they will face Grovetown  and the top-ranked Grayson twice within a four-day span.

“It’s a great win, but I’m not satisfied with that,” Browner said. “I need more and want more, and I think these guys got more to give.”

Reigning state champs make it nine wins in a row

While the Lady Rams turned in another dominant performance on Friday, it didn’t come without some early struggles.

The Lady Rams only tallied nine points in the first quarter, which made for an uncharacteristically slow start. Meanwhile, the Lady Patriots – who only fielded six players for the contest – matched Newton’s pace early.

The first quarter ended with a slight 9-8 lead for the Lady Rams.

“We need to focus a little more before the games,” said Newton head coach Jawan Bailey. “You know games like Heritage are a bit of a rivalry game for us, especially in front of our home crowd… so we need to be able to lock in a bit before the game to come out better.”

If the Lady Rams weren’t locked in during the first quarter, they certainly flipped the switch in the second quarter.

Reigning All-Cov News MVP London Smith and standout Kandice Shepard got things rolling, adding the first seven points of the quarter.

After Heritage’s Jaiden Wells knocked down a three-pointer, the Lady Rams took over from there.

An impressive 18-0 run with buckets from Smith, Shepard, Jazmin Maddox, Skylar Levell, Zoey Jackson and Mya Perry gave the Lady Rams a 34-11 lead to close out the first half.

It was much of the same after the intermission, with Shepard and Smith quickly getting over the double-digit mark. The Lady Patriots were only able to add three more points in the third quarter, while Newton continued its offensive tear with 15 points.

With the game well out of reach, Newton’s main unit was done for the night. Kaitlin Goodman put the cherry on top in the closing minute of the game to give the Lady Rams the dominant victory.

Shepard led all scorers with 14 points, while Smith added 12. 

“Tonight was a great job of everybody coming in, doing their job, not complaining about how many minutes they’re playing or how many shots they’re taking,” Bailey said. “Everybody was about the team and I’m just happy to see that more than anything. It’s a team first mentality.”

At 16-4 overall — and 7-0 in region play — the Lady Rams sit in the driver’s seat heading into the postseason. Like the boys, the Lady Rams travel to Archer on Feb. 6. They’ll then face Grovetown on Feb. 13 and twice against Grayson (Feb. 10 and Feb. 14) to close out the regular season.