MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County boys basketball team overcame what coach Andy Harden termed a selfish second quarter to beat Bainbridge 49-41 on Saturday on the William Bryant Court.
The Packers, who trailed 20-18 at the half, raised their overall record to 11-2.
They will put their 3-0 Region 1-6A record on the line on Tuesday when Valdosta, 11-6 overall and 2-1 in the region, visits.
The Packers, who defeated the Bearcats 68-53 on December 10 in Bainbridge, led 14-5 after the first quarter on Saturday and appeared headed to a similar outcome.
But the Packers managed just four second-quarter points and when the Bearcats Ja’ Veen Breedlove hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds left, the stunned Packers headed to the break down by two.
“We played selfishly in the second quarter,” Harden said. “We settled on jump shots and got away from what we did in the first quarter: moving the ball around, getting good looks, attacking the basket.
“That’s what got us the lead.”
The way back to the lead did not begin quickly in the third quarter.
The Bearcats extended their lead to four points when Breedlove grabbed on offensive rebound and put it back in the basket midway through the period.
But then the Packers began penetrating the Bainbridge defense and drawing fouls.
Marcus Moore hit two free throws with 3:49 left in the quarter to pull the Packers within two and Kanilyn Jones hit two more 16 seconds later to tie the game.
A Moore jumper with just over three minutes remaining gave the Packers the lead and they never gave it up.
Colquitt outscored Bainbridge 12-8 in the third quarter and 19-13 in the final eight minutes.
“We’ve got some fight in us,” Harden said. “We started rebounding and got to the free throw line.
“We just kept battling and got some big stops.”
Jones, who managed just three free throws in the first half, had 12 points in the second, including eight more from the free throw line.
Moore scored 13 of his 14 points in the second half. Eight came from the foul line.
JaKari Byrd kept the Packers afloat in the second quarter, scoring four of his seven points.
Cason Harden added six; Quan Kinsey had a pair of baskets; and Jae Lamar came off the bench to chip in a basket that gave the Packers a six-point lead with 5:20 left in the game.
Alexis Barge had a third-quarter free throw.
The Packers were coming off what Harden termed a “draining” 43-39 win at Lowndes on Tuesday.
“These are the kind of games you can either find a way to win or find a way to lose,” Harden said. “We found a way to win tonight.”