MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County girls and boys basketball teams combined to score just 19 fourth-quarter points and dropped a Region 1-6A doubleheader to Lowndes on Friday on the William Bryant Court.
After losing their first two games of the season to the Lowndes girls by 33 and 27 points, the Lady Packers had the Vikettes on the ropes and led 47-41with 2:54 left in the game.
But Colquitt managed just two free throws the rest of the way and fell 54-49 to the region-leading Vikettes.
In the second game, the Packers led by 10 with 1:45 left in the half, but then scored just three points in the third quarter and nine in the fourth and lost 50-37.
The Lady Packers and Packers will not have long to deal with the losses with Camden County coming in on Saturday for two more region contests.
The girls game will tip off at 5 p.m.
Colquitt’s boys still remain atop the region standings with a 5-3 record, but have lost three of their last four.
The Packers lost to Tift County on Tuesday on a basket at the buzzer, but appeared to have put the exasperating defeat behind them in the first 14 minutes against the Vikings.
Kanilyn Jones helped fuel the strong start with a couple of jams that got the Packer faithful on their feet.
But after a driving layup by Marcus Moore put the Packers up 25-15 with 1:45 left in the half, points were scarce the rest of the way.
Lowndes scored the final seven points of the second quarter to cut Colquitt’s lead to 25-22.
The game was tied at 25-25 and 27-27 before a pair of free throws by Tarrell Green Jr. gave the Vikings the lead for good with 4:30 left in the third quarter.
All the Packers managed in the third quarter was a basket and a free throw by JaKari Byrd.
A 3-pointer by Zi Alridge pulled the Packers to within four at 35-31 with 42 seconds gone in the fourth quarter, but Colquitt had just six points the rest if the way.
The Packers had difficulty getting the ball inside and their long-range jumpers failed to find their marks.
Byrd led the Packers with 11 points, including seven of the 12 they scored in the second half.
Jones added 10.
Cason Harden had two first-half 3-pointers and Marcus Moore had two baskets and a free throw in the second quarter.
Alridge had his 3-pointer and Ja’Shar Kinsey had a basket in the second quarter.
The Packers are now 13-5 overall.
The Lady Packers took a 39-33 lead into the fourth quarter of the first game and extended it on a driving layup by Amareyia Knighton a minute in.
But the Vikettes ran off the next eight points to tie the game.
Undaunted, the Lady Packers scrambled back to take a 47-41 lead with 2:54 remaining.
With 1:02 left, the Vikettes’ Kaci Demps tied the game at 48-48 with a pair of free throws.
And with 57 seconds remaining, she gave her team a 49-48 lead with another conversion from the free throw stripe.
The Lady Packers couldn’t get a shot to fall and turned the ball over with 29 seconds left as Lowndes outscored them 5-1 in the final minute.
“We let them get away,” Lady Packers coach Stephanie Cody said shaking her head. “We let the fish off the hook.”
Cody was especially disappointed with her team’s free throw shooting.
Her goal is to have her team shoot 70 per cent from the foul line.
Overall, the Lady Packers hit 61 percent, but were just 5-for-12 in the decisive fourth quarter.
“We had a chance to live on the bonus in the last two quarters, but we didn’t capitalize,” she said.
Amira Walters-Smith led the Lady Packers with 20 points and Knighton added 12.
Caylnn Singletary added nine, Nacardia Robinson had six and Azaria Battle had two.
Cody did find a silver lining in the loss.
After dropping two one-sided games to the No. 5 team in Class 6A, her team found it could stay with the Vikettes.
“That’s if we play our best,” she said. “If we execute.”
The Lady Packers could face Lowndes a fourth time this season in the Region 1-6A tournament.