By Wayne Grandy

wayne.grandy@gaflnews.com



MOULTRIE - The Colquitt County High basketball teams have three more games in which to prepare for their Region 1-AAAAA openers and those games will be in the friendly confines of the Gladys Espy Gymnasium beginning Monday.

The Packers and Lady Packers will play host to the third annual Colquitt County Roundball Classic on Monday through Wednesday at the Espy Gymnasium with nine girls and nine boys teams competing.

Play will begin each day at 9:30 a.m. The Colquitt County boys will play in the final game at 8:30 p.m. each day.

Girls teams from Albany, Lee County, Stockbridge, Monroe, Savannah, Dougherty and Colquitt County will each play three games. Camden County will play twice and Westover will play one game.

Boys teams from Miller County, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, Central-Miami, Monroe, Stockbridge, St. Francis of Alpharetta and Colquitt County will play each day. The Lee County boys will play two games. Mitchell County’s boys will play once.

The Colquitt County teams will try to build on victories in their final games of their Christmas tournaments.

The Colquitt County girls opened the season with four straight victories before dropping their first two games - to Valdosta and Lowndes - in the Randall Godfrey Christmas Classic at Lowndes High.

The Lady Packers finished the tournament with 44-43 victory over Worth County courtesy of a final-seconds basket by Nicolle Thomas.

Colquitt County girls coach Rondesha Williams should have little trouble getting up for Monday’s Roundball Classic opener against Dougherty, where she served as an assistant before taking over the Colquitt County program last season.

Dougherty should provide a test for the Lady Packers.

Coach Charlene Jackson has led her team to a 6-1 record. The Lady Trojans opened with five straight victories before suffering a 46-35 loss to Taylor County.

Dougherty is led by Tiffany Anderson, who has five double-doubles in her team’s seven games. Among her best efforts were a 31-point, 11-rebound effort in a 59-34 victory over Cairo on Tuesday and a 27-point, 10-rebound game in a 45-37 win over Eastside.

She also has scored 20 against Mitchell County, 21 against Perry and 18 against both Perry and Taylor County.

Jessica Roberts, Tiara Todd and Gabrelle Bullock also have turned in double-digit scoring games for the Dougherty.

Williams has been shuffling her lineup, trying to find the right mix before the Lady Packers travel to Coffee on Friday to open the Region 1-AAAAA season.

The Lady Packers have been using Thomas, Ashley Patillo, Umeika Henry, Shay Lovett, Bria Wallace, Persephone Taylor, Sarah Strong, Tiffany McBride, Brittany Taylor and Miranda Trim.

Patillo had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the 44-43 victory over Worth County on Monday at Lowndes. Thomas, the Auburn signee, has twice won games for the Lady Packers with buzzer-beating baskets.

Colquitt’s girls will play Stockbridge High at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Camden County at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Colquitt County boys will take a two-game winning streak into the tournament after defeating Worth County 47-32 and Statesboro 63-60 to close out play in the U-Save-It Holiday Classic.

The 2-5 Packers will try to extend the streak to three games when they meet St. Francis High of Alpharetta at 8:30 p.m. Monday.

The Knights, who play in Region 7-A, will bring a 6-3 record and a four-game winning streak to Moultrie.

St. Francis has a number of weapons, including senior point guard Brian Wood, who has scored in double-figures seven times. Wood scored 24 in the Knights’ 82-51 victory over North Paulding and 22 in the 66-50 win over Carver-Atlanta.

Devonte Davis has scored 13 or more seven times, including 22 against Paideia, 18 against North Paulding and 17 against Eagles Landing Christian. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard also has scored 14 once and 13 on two occasions.

Sam Kim, a 6-foot-3 forward, also is averaging in double-figures and is the team’s top rebounder.

The Packers will counter with a starting lineup that is expected to include Nate Hill, Dominque Hadley, Eric Key, Brian Berl and Amel Magwood. Also expected to see action are Cole Pitts, Cornelius James, Luis Ballenilla, Cameron Erving, Tyrell Wright, Stacey Blackwell.

Hill, Hadley and Berl all were in double-figures in the win over Statesboro on Tuesday.

Hill, the junior forward, leads the Packers in scoring, averaging 19.1 points a game, and in rebounding. Since scoring a season-low 12 points in the season-opener against Worth County, Hill is averaging 20.3 points a game and has scored 24 against Monroe, 20 against Bainbridge and Worth County and 22 against Statesboro.

The Packers will play Stockbridge at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and Mt. Zion-Jonesboro at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the final game of the three-day event.

The complete Monday schedule includes the Albany girls vs. Lee County at 9:30 a.m.; Stockbridge girls vs. Monroe, 11:30 a.m.; Lee County boys vs. Miller County, 1 p.m.; Mt. Zion-Jonesboro boys vs. Central-Miami, 2:30 p.m.; Westover girls vs. Savannah, 4 p.m.; Monroe boys vs. Stockbridge, 5:30 p.m.; Colquitt County girls vs. Dougherty, 7 p.m.; Colquitt County boys vs. St. Francis, 8:30 p.m.