Brantley County returned to the second half of the 2024-25 campaign splitting a pair of Region 1-A confrontations over the weekend.
The Herons (9-3 overall, 1-1 region) tipped region play Friday, January 3 falling 50-39 at Fitzgerald (9-1, 1-0). The victory was the sixth straight for the Purple Hurricane.
Brantley County bounced back Saturday rolling to a 68-45 victory over visiting Bacon County (5-6, 0-1). The victory was the fifth straight for the Herons in the series and sixth in the last seven meetings dating back to the 2019-20 season.
Brantley County holds a 6-5 advantage since 2012-13 with the programs not playing between 2012-13 to 2018-19.
The Herons will play Friday, January 10 at region foe Thomasville and host regionmate Jeff Davis Saturday, January 11.
Brantley County continues region action Tuesday, January 14 at Berrien with Fitzgerald (Friday, January 17) and Worth County (Saturday, January 18) visiting Caney Bay.
Fitzgerald .................................50 Herons .....................................39
FITZGERALD — The Purple Hurricane outscored Brantley County in each of the final three periods after spotting the visitors a three-point first quarter lead.
“This was a tough game after a long Christmas break,” said BCHS head coach Tripp Herring. “We just had a real hard time getting anything going on offense all night. Fitzgerald is a good team and their tough defense played a role in that.”
The Herons led 11-8 through the first eight minutes of action. Fitzgerald closed the deficit to 21-20 at the break after outscoring BCHS 12-10 in the second stanza.
The Purple Hurricane used another two-point scoring advantage in the third period at 10-8 to take a 30-29 lead into the final eight minutes. Fitzgerald doubled up the Herons 20-10 in the fourth quarter to get the win.
Patrick O’Quinn recorded a doubledouble to lead Brantley County scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Tucker O’Quinn finished with 10 points and dished out a team-high six assists.
Courtlon Fuller and Carson Jacobs followed with six points and five points respectively. Jayden Simmons netted three points with Holton Depratter chipping in two points.
Herons .....................................68 Bacon County ...........................45
CANEY BAY — Brantley County outscored the visiting Red Raiders in each of the first three periods en route to the victory.
“We responded well after a tough loss to Fitzgerald,” Herrin said. “Patrick, Tucker, Kent (Thomas) and Jayden all played good defense on Bacon County’s two tough guards (Santiago Bizzell and Xavier Harris). Carson and Courtlon did a good job on the boards.”
The Herons raced out to a 20-6 lead by the end of the opening stanza. They outscored Bacon County 17-8 in the second period to take a comfortable 37-14 halftime lead.
Brantley County used a 16-12 scoring advantage in the third quarter to open up a 53-26 advantage. The Red Raiders won the fourth period outpointing BCHS 1915.
Tucker O’Quinn paced the Herons with 23 points. Patrick O’Quinn recorded a second straight double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
Jacobs bagged 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Fuller recorded a double- double with 11 points and 10 boards. Thomas added five points and Depratter netted two points.
