Basketball teams fall in first round

Published 10:04 pm Monday, February 27, 2023

MOULTRIE — Both the Packers and Lady Packers lost their first-round single-elimination state tournament games last week, ending their seasons.

The Lady Packers played against the Campbell Spartans on Tuesday night in Smyrna. The final score was 67-35.

The Packers, with a final score of 77-56, played at Carrollton against the Trojans on Wednesday night.

Both the Spartans and the Trojans are Region 2-7A schools.

When the Lady Packers faced the Spartans, who had finished second seed with a 23-5 overall record and 7-3 record in region play, Colquitt County was the first team on the scoreboard with a 3-point shot.

However, Colquitt County trailed at the end of each quarter.

The first quarter had a eight-point margin at 13-5, and going into halftime the score was 23-10.

In her career-ending game with the Lady Packers, Carliss Johnson was the top point scorer with 14.

Ameris Johnson had the most rebounds with six and, on defense, Jermani Triplett had one block.

Though Colquitt County fought its best, the Spartans managed to really pull away in the third quarter, ending at 46-18.

With the 28-point difference, the Lady Packers just weren’t able to rally a comeback, and the Spartans increased their winning lead by 32 points.

“This season has been an emotional roller coaster for the girls,” saud head coach Rondesha Williams. “Sports is 90% mental, and you have to learn it can’t be turned on and off. That’s what I harped on this season, being consistent. I think they really started to figure that out towards the end of the season.”

The Packers didn’t have much better luck when playing against the Trojans.

Because of their standing, Colquitt County came into this game as the underdogs. The Packers finished fourth seed in Region 1-7A and were 4-20 overall and 3-6 in region play.

The Trojans had finished their regular season with third place seed. They were 4-4 in region games and 21-6 overall.

The first quarter ended with a score of 20-9, advantage Trojans. In fact, Carrollton took the lead in every quarter.

When the halftime buzzer sounded, the score was 38-23. Colquitt trailed behind by 15 points.

In the third quarter, the Trojans increased their lead to 23 points, ending the quarter 60-37.

The Packers managed to close that point gap just slightly in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans won by 21 points.

JaKari Byrd had the most points for the Packers at 19, followed by Tyshon Reed with 10.

During the entire game, only one Packer was able to successfully make a 3-point shot. In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Quan Kinsey got the Packers their last points.

“Carrollton had a really good game,” said head coach Andy Harden. “Their guards are very quick and it put us in trouble. But, we competed at a very high level. We are so young that it was an unbelievable experience for the kids. I was very proud of them.”