COVINGTON, Ga. — It was deja vu for the Newton Rams on Friday night. 

The Rams lost to Grayson 71-61 in the Region 4-AAAAAAA championship game. Friday’s loss marks the second consecutive season Newton came up short against Grayson on the same stage. 

This time around, it was a strong end to the first quarter by Grayson that propelled it to victory.

Early on, Friday’s contest went back-and-forth with each squad trading buckets. Then, things started going south for Newton.

It began with Grayson’s ability to consistently connect on its 3-point shots. 

A host of Grayson players found the bottom of the net from long range in the closing minutes of the first quarter. In the first half alone, Grayson connected on eight, 3-pointers.

Then, following one of those 3-pointers, a Grayson defender intercepted Malachi Hardy’s ensuing in-bound pass intended for Stephon Castle. 

Grayson converted the wide-open layup. 

To cap off the opening quarter, Giccari Harris nailed a long, 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. 

Harris’ shot near half-court gave Grayson a 25-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Three minutes earlier, Newton’s deficit was just three. 

Head coach Charlemagne Gibbons pointed to his team’s sluggish beginning as the difference in the game. 

“We got off to a slow start,” Gibbons said. “But between us missing free throws, layups and not shooting the ball well, you get down early. That’s what happened and we were having to dig back into the game.” 

At halftime, the score stood 45-29 in favor of Grayson. 

Nevertheless, after trailing by as many as 22 points in the second half, the Rams kept battling. 

Nearly every Ram player contributed to cutting the deficit to as low as nine points. But it was a case of too little too late. 

Unlike Grayson, Newton never seemed to be able to put a run together enough to draw the score closer. 

In the final minutes of the contest, Grayson maintained possession of the ball to help bleed the clock, limiting Newton’s opportunities to mount a comeback.

Even in the loss, though, Gibbons recognized that his team learned a lot about itself on Friday. 

“If you don’t do the little things, you’ll be at home early in the playoffs,” Gibbons said. “We’ve got to do the little things and, tonight, we didn’t do that until it got urgent. But we’re going to get ready to live another day. We’re in the state tournament and we’ll get ready to rock and roll.” 

As a result of the loss, the Rams were named region runner-up for Region 4-AAAAAAA and will enter the state tournament as a No. 2 seed. State playoffs begin on Tuesday, Feb. 23 with Newton hosting round one.