Brantley County Middle School’s 8th-grade basketball teams split a pair road trips in Southeast Georgia Middle School Athletic Conference action.
The Lady Herons had an easy time Monday, December 2 with visiting Bethune Middle rolling to a 51-15 victory. They also had an easy time two days later at Waycross Middle School recording a 50-12 decision.
The Herons fell 44-24 to Behune Middle to start the week. A date with Waycross Middle ended with a 47-37 setback.
Lady Herons ..........51 Bethune Middle .....15 CANEY BAY — Chloe Johns outscored the Lady Braves finishing with a game-high 24 points to lead Brantley Middle.
Johns scored 13 points in the first half and 11 points over the final two periods. She connected on two treys.
Anniston Bowers joined Johns with double figures nearly matching Bethune Middle’s total with 14 points including a pair of treys — one in each half.
The Lady Herons did not allow the visitors to score more than five points in any period.
Brantley Middle raced out to an 11-3 advantage by the end of the opening period. A 17-5 run over the second stanza extened the Lady Herons’ margin to 28-8 at intermission.
BCMS added to its lead during a 16-3 scoring advantage in the third quarter to take a commanding 44-11 lead. The Lady Herons outpointed Bethune Middle 7-4 in the “mercy rule” final period.
Julia Miller was next in the scoring column for Brantley Middle finishing with seven points. Allie Gray, Raeleigh Gibson and Grace Carver contributed two points apiece.
Bethune Middle ....44 Herons..................24 CANEY BAY — Bethune Middle outscored the Herons in each quarter in securing the victory.
The Braves grabbed a 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The two teams matched their point totals in the second period with Bethune Middle taking an 18-12 advantage to the locker room.
The visitors outpointed the Herons by three points for a third consecutive quarter using the 118 margin to build a 29-20 lead. The Braves finished the game with a 15-4 scoring advantage for the final margin.
Dalton Bell (three treys) led Brantley Middle with 12 points. Steven Cook and Payton Jackson were next with four points each. Evan Delaney (trey) netted three points with Brooks Anderson canning a free throw.
Bethune Middle’s Tre Hamilton (trey) scored 11 of his game-high 14 points in the second half. Jordan Mangram chipped in 10 points.
Lady Herons .........50 Waycross Middle ...12 WAYCROSS — The Lady Herons scored all the points they would need in the first quarter in rolling past homestanding Waycross Middle.
Brantley Middle raced out to a 19-4 lead in the first quarter. The Lady Herons outpointed Waycross Middle 11-2 in the second stanza to stretch the margin to 30-6.
The scoring slowed in the third period with BCMS holding a 7-1 advantage opening up a 377 bulge. Brantley Middle outscored the Lady Bulldogs 13-4 during the “mercy rule” final quarter.
Johns scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the first half to lead the Lady Herons.
Carver followed with eight points. Gray and Miller bagged six points each. Bowers contributed four points.
Addisyn Grafford and Emersyn Payne netted two points apiece. Gibson netted a free throw.
Waycross Middle...47 Herons ..................37 WAYCROSS — Waycross Middle pulled away from a three-point halftime lead with a big third quarter to beat the Herons.
The Bulldogs led just 98 after one period. They added two points to their margin during the second quarter outscoring Brantley Middle 11-9 to carry a 20-17 advantage into the break.
Waycross Middle matched its first half point total in the third stanza outscoring the Herons 20-8 to extend the margin to 40-25. Brantley Middle sliced five points off the deficit outpointing the Bulldogs 12-7 in the final period.
Alex Keen led a balanced scoring attack of nine players with seven points. Cook was next with six points while Jacob Highsmith and Jackson bagged five points apiece.
Anderson followed with four points with Kase Crews and Mathew Keen netting three points each. Chase Murray and Bell finished with two points apiece.
