MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County High boys basketball team cut a 14-point second-quarter deficit to just four at the half, but could not keep the momentum, losing to Eastern High of Louisville, Ky., 68-52 on Monday in their first game of the Citizens First Classic, being held in Bowling Green, Ky.

“We had some opportunities to win the game,” Packers assistant coach Dextra Polite said.

The loss is the first of the season for the Packers, who opened with a pair of victories over Worth County and another over Bainbridge.

Rashawn Melvin led the Packers with 15 points. Eugene Woods and Andrew Wallace also were in double figures with 10 points each.

Duke Banks added eight, Channing Hudson had five, Orion Ponder scored four and Dannie Hunt had three.

Colquitt will play Rossview High of Clarksville, Tenn., at 3 p.m. today in its second game of the tournament.

On Wednesday, Colquitt will meet Franklin-Simpson High of Franklin, Ky., at 9 a.m. and will play another game later in the day against a team to be determined.

The Packers will play host to the three-day, 14-team Colquitt County Roundball Classic at the Gladys Espy Memorial Gymnasium beginning Thursday, Dec. 28.