Ware County closed out the first half of its season as the Gators rolled to victories over Charlton County and Clinch County.
The Gators (9-3) finished their pre-Christmas schedule with the most wins in the first half of the schedule in since before 2014 eclipsing the eight victories last year.
Ware County enters the break riding a three-game winning streak with victories of 32-plus points.
The Gators completed the season sweep of Charlton County winning 88-47 Friday, December 20 in Folkston. Ware County beat the Indians 66-35 November 14 at home.
Ware County followed with a 78-43 decision Saturday night against visiting Clinch County, which entered 5-0 and averaging 73 points per game.
The Gators tip the 2025 portion of the schedule Friday, January 3 in a Region 1-AAAA matchup at Warner Robins. Vidalia visits Saturday, January 4 for a 5 p.m. matchup. Region foe New Hampstead visits Tuesday, January 10.
Gators ..........................................................88 Charlton County ...........................................47 FOLKSTON — Ware County exploded for 52 points in the opening 16 minutes finishing the game with a season-high point total against the Indians.
Shaun McClam (seven threes) scored a careerhigh 28 points, 16 in the first period on five treys, to lead the Gators. Darius Ward (trey) netted 10 of his 18 points in the second period. Jarvis Wright scored all 11 of his points in the second quarter.
Ware County raced out to a 22-13 lead in the opening eight minutes. A 30-15 blitz in the second stanza sparked by Ward and Wright pushed the Gators’ margin to 52-28 at intermission.
Ware County padded its margin by two points in the third quarter outscoring the Indians 1816 for a 70-44 advantge. The Gators finished the game with an 18-3 run over the final eight minutes.
Six other players reached the scoring column for Ware County. Dedrick Jackson finished with nine points. Tayshaun Franklin and Leo Gardner netted seven points and six points respectively. Tezhan Bolds contributed five points while Sibari Williams and Elan Jones contributed two points apiece.
Charlton County placed three players in double figures led by the 16 points of Trevon Cobb. Christian Brown added 11 points with Jack Braddock finishing with 10 points.
Gators ...................78 Clinch Co...............43 The Gators pulled away from a two-point first quarter advantage outscoring Clinch County by 33 points over the final three periods for the win.
Three players combined to outscore the Panthers led by Bolds (two threes) game-high 25 points with 20 coming in the second half. Franklin scored 10 of his seasonbest 15 points in the second period. Ward (trey) added 10 points.
Ware County scored the final basket of the first quarter to take the lead for good at 11-9. The Gators started pulling away late in the first half stretching a one-point lead to 31-24 at the break after outscoring Clinch County 20-15 in the second period.
A 26-10 scoring advantage in the third period blew the game open with Ware County taking a 5734 lead into the final period. The Gators closed out the game outscoring the visitors 21-9 in the final stanza.
Williams (trey) was next in the scoring column with nine points. Jackson and Wright followed with seven points and six points respectively. McClam netted four points with Jones finishing with two points.
