BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Dublin splits with Johnson County, East Laurens sweeps set of four to start out 2026

Dublin’s girls basketball team rang in the new year on a winning note, and its boys with a sour one, as the Irish re-took the court at home Saturday night in a non-region matchup with Johnson County. 

The winning half of the split was all Lady Irish, as they dominated by double digits en route to their second-straight win, 59-27. The Dublin boys were on track to also complete their first back-to-back of the season, with a late lead reflective of their edge in most of the matchup’s statistical categories. 

But a handful of critical plays by the Trojans’ J.T. Bivins in the final half-minute of the fourth quarter tipped the scales for the visitors, who jumped in front and hung on to win 49-48 for their first victory in four outings. 

The pair of 2026 debuts were encouraging for Irish 3-point shooters, who were fairly locked-in across the double-dip. 

Dublin’s girls scattered several across the hot third quarter that was the separating point of their runaway. Jaydon McRae (4) and Glen Harris (3) combined for all seven by the Irish boys, who also dropped the bulk of theirs in a strong start to the second half that got a double-digit halftime deficit turned around. 

Scoring close the basket remained the challenge for both teams that it’s been for much of the season to date. But rebounding, whose success rate for each has been uncoupled from an overall lack of points in the paint, was a different story. 

That steady storyline floated a strong first half for the Dublin girls, who had already doubled up the Lady Trojans by a count of 32-16 through two quarters. 

Obstructive defense going both directions took away most of either team’s transition opportunities in a clunky start to the second half. But several long-range hits over a four-minute opening run – Keasia Jackson’s made it a clean 20 points with 3:41 left – kept Dublin (4-5, 1-2 region 2-High A) comfortably in front from there all the way to the end. 

The Irish boys (2-6, 0-3 region) didn’t have nearly as smooth a ride to their late second-half lead, as JoCo set the pace leading up to and following a second 3 by McRae to give them a brief edge of 13-12 at the end of the first eight minutes. 

They fell on a severe drought late in the second, going the entire last four minutes leading into halftime without a point. The Trojans capitalized to run their lead up to a dozen. 

But whatever adjustments were made by Coach Carlos Hope and the Irish during the halftime retreat had their intended impact as Dublin opened the second half on a 14-0 tear that finished up on another McRae triple to take back the lead. 

The first four minutes of the third amounted to a 17-2 Irish run. And their momentum apexed later in the quarter with a Harris 3, followed by a separate field goal, to make it 41-33. 

But JoCo would reverse and regain the momentum before the end of the period, cutting the margin back to a single possession by the third-quarter buzzer. And there it stayed for most of the fourth. 

Dublin’s Kam Stanley and Ar’Dreakius Taylor sunk key baskets to take a one-point lead to three at separate junctures in the final minutes, but a 7-for-19 final clip at the foul line kept it from pulling away. 

The Trojans responded, and finally caught back up with a Bivins 3-pointer to tie at 26 seconds to go. 

The Irish took a timeout and took the clock in anticipation of a move for the final shot, but wound up turning it over as he jumped their pass back toward the top of the key, and took it back the other way to draw a foul and get to the free throw line with 8.6 remaining. 

The first try missed, but Bivins connected on the second to give JoCo the slight lead. And Dublin wouldn’t get a shot up for a chance to respond on the other end as the ball got knocked away from Harris in a trap, and was recovered by the Trojans as time expired. 

Their last-minute hero had only six points, to trail the 16 of co-leaders Daezon Devero and Cory King, but got credit for two crucial steals. Devero also had six of the team’s 21 boards. 

Dublin out-rebounded JoCo by just as many, with Jakarian Jones pulling in 12 for the lead. McRae and Harris had 13 each to lead the Irish. Chris Dixon assisted eight baskets. 

East Laurens girls 77, Johnson Co. 25

Lady Falcons won all but the first quarter, but absolutely dominated the third by a score of 39-2 to blow open an already-lopsided game as they opened the new year at home Friday night. 

Garyunna Mitchell had 19 to lead four East Laurens players in double digits scoring, with Zahmaria Robinson (17), Jameria Bing (14) and Deanna Lowther (10, plus 10 assists in a nontraditional double-double, along with nine boards, nine steals and three blocked shots) not far behind. 

East defenders deflected 28 passes, and recorded 37 steals. 

East Laurens boys 71, Johnson Co. 37

Many of their layups were open, and others were not-so-open, but it didn’t much matter for the Falcon boys, who got the ball in the basket one way or another to jump-start their offense after a somewhat languid start. 

It was a low-scoring first quarter, but East Laurens finished it on a 6-2 run for a lead of four, then started the second on a 14-2 to go up by double figures. 

Nearly identical overall scoring spreads in the second, 21-7, and third, 22-7, put the Falcons in firm control from that point on. 

East Laurens girls 60, Tattnall County 43

Mitchell had another 17, and 10 rebounds for a double-double, to lead the Lady Falcons (8-2, 3-0 region 2-High A) for a second-straight night. 

Bing (14) and Robinson (10) also remained hot, with Lowther scoring in single-digits but pulling in a team-high 13 boards to lead a strong rebounding effort. Miyah Smith added eight and Robinson seven to run their total on the glass to 48. 

Unanswered runs for East Laurens numbering eight points to start the game and nine early in the second contributed to a 31-17 lead at the half. A run of 13 within five minutes, as it handled some Tattnall County pressure midway through the second half, put it away. 

East Laurens boys 60, Tattnall Co. 53 

The Falcons’ strong play around the rim continued Saturday night, when several long wingspans were valuable in converting shot chances from close range. 

Jeremiah Rozier’s 3-pointer highlighted a 13-2 first-quarter run that built an early cushion, and spilled over into the second with three more consecutive field goals, two by Zion Dixon. 

But the last of dueling runs in the half had the Battle Creek Warriors back within eight on the way to the break. And they never went away as the Eastside lead fluctuated down the stretch. 

B.J. Sanders hit two 3-pointers in the last two minutes – a last with 34 seconds to go to trim it to only five. But Rozier made both of two subsequent free throws, and the Falcons (7-3, 2-1 region) iced their second-straight win with another stop. 

Mary Persons 53, West Laurens girls 34 

The Lady Raiders were outscored 34-12 in the first half, and couldn’t climb back as they traveled to Forsyth for their last game of the year Dec. 22. 

Demmie Moss had eight points to lead all scorers, and seven boards to finish near the top of the rebound column along with Brooklyn Jackson (who chalked up eight along with seven points, three assists and four steals) and Leah Brown (with seven points and five re’s). 

Cross Creek 45, West Laurens girls 18

Jackson’s 14 points and eight boards, and a six-rebound effort by freshman London Williams, were bright spots in the Lady Raiders’ overall bumpy start to the new year . 

West Laurens (4-7, 3-4 region 4-AAA) committed 38 turnovers, and shot only 26 percent from the floor. 

Cross Creek 100, West Laurens boys 50

The Raiders (3-10, 1-6 region 4-AAA) were doubled up in a discouraging re-start to region play on Saturday, though their 2026 ended on a positive note with their lone win out of three at a tournament on Hilton Head Island Dec. 22. 

After losing its first two at the event soundly, 86-54 to Jordan Christian Prep and 69-40 to host Hilton Head Island, West Laurens closed out with a 61-40 victory over Denmark-Olar to finish the weekend. 

Next… 

Dublin, East Laurens and West Laurens were scheduled resume region action Tuesday night, with the Falcons and Irish meeting for the first time this season on the Jaroy Stuckey Court, and the Raiders across town hosting Richmond Academy.