BEARVILLE — Appling County ended a pair of losing streaks with a Region 3-AA sweep here Friday of homestanding Pierce County.
The Lady Pirates (8-8 overall, 3-0 region) ended a two-game slide pulling away from a 27-all halftime tie to beat the Lady Bears (3-10, 1-2), who have dropped six of seven, 60-51 in the January 16 opener.
The Pirates (3-13, 1-2) ended a 10-game losing streak posting their first region win turning back the Bears (4-9, 1-2), who have also dropped six of seven, 78-67 in the finale.
Appling Co............60 Lady Bears ............51 The Lady Pirates outscored PCHS by 10 points in the third period building a 16-point lead during the final period in picking up the victory.
The Lady Bears raced out to a 17-13 lead in the opening stanza in one of their most productive first eight minutes of the season. Appling County outscored the home team 14-10 in the second stanza to even the game at 27-all by intermission.
The visitors controlled the third period keeping PCHS scoreless for nearly six minutes during a 15-5 run to take a 42-32 lead. Down 16 in the fourth, the Lady Bears battled back eventually outscoring Appling County 19-18 to climb to within single digits.
Claire Murray scored 12 of her season-high 22 points for the Lady Bears in the final stanza to garner game-high scoring honors. Madi McGatha (two treys) followed with 12 points.
Isabella Marx contributed eight points. Ansley Hutcheson (trey) netted six points. Alayna Bell chipped in three points.
Appling County, which drilled six treys, also had a pair of double-digit scorers led by Madison Jones (two treys) 14 points and Ky’laiah Smith’s 11 points. Three other players had eight points apiece.
Appling Co. ............78 Bears .....................67 Appling County rallied from a three-point deficit entering the final eight minutes outscoring the Bears 27-13 to notch the win.
The Pirates offset a 21of-37 free throw performance draining seven long-range bombs. PCHS finished 16-of-26 from the charity stripe with just two made baskets from behind the arc.
Photo By RICK HEAD Jamil Strickland and Nigel Brown scored 23 points apiece to lead Pierce County. Strickland poured in 16 points over the final two quarters.
Appling County had four players reach doublefigures. Nate Davis scored 16 of his game-high 25 points after intermission. Noah Henderson (four treys) netted 14 of his 23 points over the first two periods. Adarius Howell (trey) added 13 points with Caden Sumner finishing with 10 points.
The half was littered with turnovers and missed shots from inside the paint. The Pirates claimed a 17-13 first quarter lead. Pierce County responded with a 19-15 scoring advantage in the second period tying the game at 32-all.
The Bears outscored Appling County 22-19 during third quarter action in claiming a 54-51 lead. The Pirates’ 14-point swing over the final eight minutes lifted the visitors.
Five other players contributed the PCHS scoring column led by D.J. Moody’s eight points off the bench. Chezz Arm-strong. and Jikeyse McGauley followed with five points and four points respectively. Tymere Monroe and Shavez Warren each chipped in two points.
Photo By RICK HEAD
