Habersham Central High School’s varsity basketball teams took a hit in region play Tuesday night with losses to Lanier High School.
Girls: Lanier 46, Habersham Central 39
The Lady Raiders (5-11, 2-3 Region 8-AAAAAA) made a late push, cutting a lead from as many as 10 down to one point, 39-38, with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Then the Lady Longhorns (8-9, 4-1) went on a 7-1 run down the stretch.
“I am proud that our kids did not quit,” Head Coach Bill Bradley said. “They continued to compete. Even though we weren’t doing some of the things we were supposed to, we were trying.”
On the night, HCHS missed a fair amount of shots – open and defended – under the basket and only netted two 3-point baskets.
“We missed a lot of open stuff under the basket and can’t hit a 3,” Bradley said. “And we missed a lot of pull-up jumpers. You add all those things together and lapses defensively…”
The Lady Raiders were led by Kyia Barrett with 21 of the team’s 39 points.
As frustrating as missing the open layups or chances under the basket can be, HCHS was 13-of-22 at the free throw line.
The Lady Raiders will have a chance to improve their region record Friday night as they play host to Jackson County. Tip off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Raider Gymnasium.
Boys: Lanier 64, Habersham Central 60
The Raiders (14-4, 3-2), coming off a tight win on the road at North Forsyth, played Lanier (7-10, 2-3) tight the entire night.
The Longhorns took a four-point lead into the final quarter and kept HCHS at an arm’s length throughout the period.
Enzo Combs hit a 3-point shot as the horn sounded to cut the deficit to the four-point final.
“We’ve got to play better, we’ve got to play smarter,” Head Coach Tommy Yancey said. “I’ve got to do a better job making sure they know what to do because obviously we didn’t know what to do tonight.”
Combs led the Raiders with 16 points in the contest. Brannon Gaines and Justus Gober each had 12 points.
Yancey said he’s prepared for Friday night’s region matchup at home.
“I know exactly what Jackson’s going to do, but we’ll worry about that tomorrow,” he said Tuesday night.
The boys will tip off around 8:30 p.m. Friday following the girl’s game.
Notes
With Friday’s contest being the halfway point in the region schedule, the boys’ 3-2 region record has them sitting in third within 8-AAAAAA.
The Gainesville Red Elephants are sitting just above them at 4-1. The only region loss for Gainesville is an overtime defeat to HCHS.
The Lady Raiders’ 2-3 mark has them in third in the region, despite being tied with Shiloh and Apalachee.
Wins against both schools puts HCHS above both programs in the standings.
