8th-graders drop pair to Valdosta

November 14, 2008 11:14 pm

— MOULTRIE — In their season-openers last Monday, the Colquitt County boys and girls eighth-grade basketball rallied from early deficits to defeat Coffee.
On Friday at the Willie J. Williams Middle School gymnasium, the eighth-grade Lady Packers and Lady Packers again found themselves in early holes.
This time, however, they were unable to dig their way out and both fell to visiting Valdosta.
In the girls game, Colquitt County trailed by just a point after the first quarter, but then was outscored 14-0 in the second and went on to lose 45-19.
It was much the same in the boys game.
The Packers actually led 9-7 at the end of the first six minutes, but then scored just two points in each of the second and third quarters and fell 39-20.
Colquitt County’s eighth-grade girls never did get a handle on Valdosta’s press and were unable to stop the Lady Wildcats Storm Phillips, who had a game-high 23 points.
The Lady Packers got a basket from Ja’Nice Sailor with 1:58 left in the first quarter to bring them to within a point of the Lady Wildcats.
But Colquitt’s next basket came with 4:36 left in the third quarter and cut Valdosta’s lead to 23-8.
The Lady Packers scored just nine more points.
Sailor lead Colquitt County with eight points. Cheyenne Reynolds added six, Ashley Henry and Alkerion Ryce each had two points and Shakhila Harry added a free throw.
Colquitt County’s boys got points from four players in the first quarter to lead by two.
But Valdosta ran off the first 11 points of the second quarter and led 20-11 at the half.
In the second and third quarter, the Packers were outscored by a combined 22-4.
Valdosta’s Clarence Smith led all scorers with 16 points.
Colquitt County did not have a player in double-figures.
Octavius Jackson had seven; Nate Madison had three; Quin Osby, Caleb Brown, Carlos Johnson and Deonte Johnson each each had two; and Tymetrius Lowery had a free throw.
The eighth-grade teams will return to the Williams Gymnasium to play host to Hahira on Tuesday, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
At Valdosta Middle School on Friday, the Colquitt County seventh-grade girls fell 35-13. Dexshalyn Polite had seven points and Blakelee Handfield had three as the youngest Lady Packers fall to 0-2.
The Colquitt County seventh-grade boys raised their record to 1-1 with a 44-35 victory.
Kenji Thompson had 14 points, Shiem King had seven and Robert Lingo added six.
The seventh-grade teams will travel to Hahira on Tuesday.