HOOPS ROUNDUP: Road woes for Trinity at Windsor; East Laurens girls get county’s lone Tuesday-night win at Dodge

The Trinity Crusaders returned to hardwood action Tuesday with a road trip to Macon to face Windsor in their next-to-last games of the season.  

After being swept in close games last week, the Knights returned the favor and defeated Trinity’s girls  57-54. The Crusader boys struggled offensively most of the night, and lost 59-46.

The girls dug a big hole early, but fought back to take a lead. 

The first quarter was about as bad as possible offensively as Trinity managed just six points. Windsor put up 18 to take a big early lead.

It was the Lady Crusaders who scored 18 in the second quarter. Windsor cooled off a bit with just 11 and Trinity trailed only 29-24 at the half.

The Lady Crusaders stayed hot out of the locker room, scoring 18 more. The Lady Knights managed just 10 and Trinity took a 39-36 lead into the fourth.

Unfortunately Trinity went cold again in the last quarter, managing just 12 points. This time it was Windsor scoring 18 to finish with a three-point lead. 

Again, Trinity had no answer for Kennedi Harris, who finished with 32.

Brinley Vinson led Trinity with 19. Maddy George had 14 and Chloe Rozier added 11.

When the Crusaders and Knights met in Dublin last week, Jagger George scored 47 to lead the Crusaders to a close win. This time around, the entire team couldn’t muster that much in a loss.

The boys started out almost as slowly as the girls, managing just seven first quarter points. Windsor put up 15 to take the early lead.

The Knights managed just seven in the second quarter, but Trinity was somehow worse, scoring just five. The Crusaders trailed 22-12 at the half.

Trinity scored more points in the third period than they did the entire first half with 13. Unfortunately, the Crusaders’ defense let them down, allowing Windsor to put up 19, and they trailed 41-25 after three.

The offense finally got going in the fourth as Trinity put up 21, but it was too little, too late as the Knights made enough free throws down the stretch to hold onto their double-digit lead. 

George again led Trinity, but only had 20, with 15 of those coming after halftime. Will Foskey finished with 14 before fouling out midway through the fourth.

Jaquan Lewis led Windsor with 20. Greg Brooks had 13 and Dawson Sims added 10.

Washington Co. 60, Dublin girls 38 

The Lady Irish (10-11, 4-6 region 2-HIgh A) controlled a little more than eight minutes of defense-dominated basketball, before WACO’s Jade Kitchens (20 points) and Aeria Hagans (15) got to their usual mid-game hot spot in the second quarter. 

The Lady Hawks, after trailing 8-6 at the end of one, doubled their output with 19 the rest of the way to half. They traded Dublin three for six in the early minutes, then rattled off 13 unanswered before the break to take as big an advantage as they’d need into the break, but pulled completely away with another net eight in the third-quarter count. 

Washington Co. 52, Dublin boys 40

The Golden Hawks outran Dublin 37-20 in the second half to turn the game’s tide after a slow start. But much like earlier in the night, the Irish (3-17, 0-10 region) held their own in the two low-scoring quarters that started things out. 

QuanTavis Lovett had a double-dozen, with a team-high 12 each in the points and rebounds columns, plus four steals and three blocked shots that bolstered the early defensive effort. Dublin, whose Ar’Dreakius Taylor, Jaydon McRae and Glen Harris added nine, seven and six respectively, was in front by six after one, and five at the half. 

Jaden Atkinson and Zion Cordy sparked a WACO resurgence post-intermission just as Irish confidence sputtered, with few free throw opportunities (the teams shot a total of only five each) as an offensive jump-start. 

McRae had their only make out of 12 attempts from 3-point range. 

East Laurens girls 72, Dodge Co. 36

The Lady Falcons (19-3, 10-1 region 2-High A) put the clamps on Dodge after finishing a fast-paced first quarter on top 19-15. They’d go on to score 18, 23 and 12 in the remaining quarters, while holding the Squaws to a single digit each in the same, to build a cushy margin by night’s end. 

Jameria Bing (18), Garyunna Mitchell (16), Deanna Lowther (16) and Zahmaria Robinson (12) all went for double digits in the scorebook.  Lowther and Mitchell doubled up in rebounds as well, with 15 and 13 respectively, and combined for seven of East’s 15 steals. 

Dodge’s Paige Ingram had 18. 

Dodge Co. 59, East Laurens boys 49

The Indians, with a much better shooting night on their home court than they had in last month’s visit to the Eastside, maintained a nice offensive pace in the last three quarters that East Laurens (17-5, 8-3 region) couldn’t match. 

The Falcons led 16-12 after one, but gave back five as Dodge led a 21-15 second quarter, then seven along with the lead as they countered the home team’s 12 with only seven in a mutually sluggish third. 

Kyler Johnson reached 22 points, and Galvin Hilburn 12, as the Indians added another three to their lead in the last eight minutes. Dodge, with the win, takes control of second place in the region standings. 

Next… 

With its long late-season road trip finally over, Dublin will get back to the Jaroy Stuckey Court Friday night as it welcomes Dodge for senior night, on the front end of a three-game homestand that continues Saturday against ECI. 

East Laurens gets a break from region ball until next Tuesday, with its lone weekend game a home rematch against West Laurens set for Saturday afternoon. The Raiders, who were inactive due to a postponement on Tuesday, will visit Richmond Academy Friday night. 

Trinity’s teams return home to finish out the regular season Friday night against Brentwood. 

Special recognitions are planned for three of the above fixtures. The Irish are set to remember the late Tawaski King, a forward off of their 2009 state championship team, between girls and boys games Friday night. The Falcons will pay tribute to two former girls basketball coaches, Bernie Snellgrove and Charles E. Turner, during Saturday’s games against West. Trinity, in addition to senior recognitions Friday night, will honor its all-time 1,000-point scorers during the boys’ halftime.