MOULTRIE – Colquitt County coach Andy Harden was understandably eager to have his team play for the first time in front of the home fans on the William Bryant Court.
And although they never trailed, the Packers led visiting Cairo by just eight points at the end of a rapid-paced first half on Friday in their home gymnasium.
But the last two quarters were remarkable ones.
The Packers scored 49 points in the final 16 minutes and defeated the Syrupmakers by 40, 91-51.
The win completed the sweep in the Colquitt County’s first home games of the 2024-2025 season.
The Lady Packers scored the first 20 points and defeated the Syrupmaids 58-15 in the opener. The final quarter was shortened to six minutes.
Both Colquitt County teams are 3-0 as they head into the their games in Saturday’s South Georgia vs. Middle Georgia Showcase at the Colquitt County gym.
The Lady Packers will face Dougherty at 6 p.m. and the Colquitt County boys will meet Macon’s Rutland High at 7:30 p.m.
The event will begin at noon when Lee County and Wilcox County face off in a girls matchup.
The next three games will feature boys teams: Crisp County vs. Cairo at 1:30 p.m.; Worth County vs. Southwest Macon at 3 p.m.; and Valdosta vs. Houston County at 4:30 p.m.

Harden said his team, strengthened by newcomers Marcus Moore and Kanilyn Jones, did not handle the game’s fast pace well in the early going.
“Even though we were up, they played better than we did in the first half,” he said. “They sped up play and we didn’t do a good job handling it. We didn’t play with composure.
“We did a better job in the second half. We ran our stuff better. Give our guys credit. They never quit. I’m proud of them.”
The Packers outscored the Syrupmakers 21-10 in the third quarter and managed to get some junior varsity players in for the final 2:10 of the game.
Jones, who played at Brooks County last year, led the Packers with 21 points, including 13 in the second half.
Cason Harden had just one basket and five free throws in the first half, but finished with 19.
Jakari Byrd, rounding into basketball shape after playing a key role on the Packer football team’s offensive line, had 17.
Moore had eight; Ja’Shar Kinsey and A’Zhiyen Alridge each had seven; Quan Kinsey had six; Jalyn Pace had a basket and a free throw; and Mike Robinson came off the bench to hit a long 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining.
Kourtnee Brown led the Syrupmakers with 20 points, but only three came in the second half.
For the third straight game to open the season, the talented Lady Packers were not challenged.
Cairo managed just three points in the first half and did not reach double-digits in points until 3:51 was left in the third quarter.
All-State guard Amira Walters-Smith and sophomore Nacardia Robinson led the Lady Packers with 19 points each.
The Colquitt girls also got strong contributions from three starters who had been instrumental the night before in helping the Lady Packers flag football team win the first two rounds of the state playoffs.
Amareyia Knighton scored eight points; Caylnn Singletary hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers; and Ta’Meria Williams handled the ball well on offense and played strong defense.
Colquitt also got four points from Kamya Thomas and a basket from Azaria Battle.
Before the start of the girls game, a moment of silence was held in the memory of former Lady Packer player and assistant coach Dexshalyn Polite, who died Nov. 28 of cancer at age 28.