JASPER, Fla. — A late fourth-quarter run lifted the Columbia Tigers to a victory against Hamilton County on Saturday.  

HCHS held a slim lead in the final period, but the final minutes of the back-and-forth game belonged to Columbia and Bobby Fulton.  

Fulton scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and propelled the Tigers to a scorching finish and a 61-56 win. 

Box score

Brandon McClain 13, Jones 13, Stockton 8, Brown 6, Merrill 4, Hawkins 4, Pierce 2, Nick McClain 2, Lee 2, Zanders 2

After Javiel Jones’ long 3-pointer gave the Trojans a 53-52 lead, Fulton took over and carried Columbia to a 9-3 run in the final five minutes.  

“We did the things that we’re supposed to do — rebounding and defense — to get back into the game,” said Trojans coach Mike Cohen, whose team battled back from an early 12-point deficit.

“But once we got back into the game, we got a little relaxed and they picked it up. They got the last run.”

The Tigers also had the first big run of the game— a 14-2 spurt that began at the end of the first quarter and carried into the second. 

HCHS responded by scoring 11 straight points, getting to within one point of the lead at 23-22 after a putback dunk from Brandon McClain.

McClain and Jones both finished with a team-high 13 points for HCHS.

Trailing by six at halftime, the Trojans came out hot to start the second half. They grabbed their largest lead of the game — a four-point margin at 40-36 — courtesy of a Tony Stockton 3-pointer with 3:05 left in the third quarter.  

Stockton, a senior and one of four returning starters, scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds. He got Hamilton County running in transition in the second half to spark the offense.  

Junior Melvin Brown, in his first year with the team, gave the Trojans a strong rebounding presence and also a scoring boost. Brown tallied six points and nine rebounds.

CHS girls defeat Hamilton County 

The Hamilton County girls basketball team got off to a cold start and could never recover against Columbia on Saturday. 

Standout performances from Renee Cline and Quianna Dillard led the Tigers to a a 57-30 win. The duo combined for 40 points as CHS led from start to finish.

Box score

Lewis 8, Cohen 6, Tucker 6, Fudge 4, Cooks 2, Nixon 2, Gaines 2

After trailing by as many as 17 points, Alisha Lewis and Tatyana Cohen guided Hamilton County to a 10-3 run to start the second half. But the Trojans’ momentum ended abruptly after that run and they never got to within single digits of the lead. 

“We talked about some of the mistakes we were making, especially on defense like not boxing out,” said Hamilton coach Gregory Taylor. “We started pushing the ball in transition and got back in the game.

“But then we had too many turnovers. We’ve got to get a little better on the boards and run our offense.”

Lewis had eight points while Cohen finished with six points and nine rebounds. 

UP NEXT: Hamilton County travels to Taylor County tonight. The girls game is at 6 p.m. and the boys game tips off at 7:30 p.m.