MORGAN COUNTY
The Morgan County boys’ and girls’ basketball teams began Region 4-AAA play last week.
After going 2-1 at the Chuck Miller Classic over the Christmas break, the Bulldogs fell to the Academy of Richmond County (ARC) 59-54 on Friday evening in Augusta.
The Musketeers were able to exploit some mistakes by Morgan County and pull off the five-point win. They also played well on the glass against the Bulldogs and in the paint.
Seniors TJ Thompson (18 pts) and Harrison Peaster (13 pts) scored double-digits. The Bulldogs also got contributions from fellow seniors Jaturi Brown and Reggie Ross.
However, it just wasn’t enough as ARC was able to knock down some free throws at the end. Morgan County resumed play on Tuesday night against region opponent Salem (6-8) at home.
They have two more home games this week against Hephzibah (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) and Eastside (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.). The Bulldogs lost to the Eagles earlier this season.
The loss of leading scorer Qua Brown has been heavily felt, but first-year head coach Cody Anderson is seeing other guys such as Ross and Peaster step up in his absence.
“Harrison (Peaster) and Reggie (Ross) have made their presence known since Qua got injured,” Anderson said last week. “TJ (Thompson) and Jaturi (Brown) are playing well, too. I just need to have them better prepared for games. That’s on me.”
On the other hand, the Lady Dogs continued their winning against ARC on Friday night. They gutted out a low-scoring 33-29 victory over the Lady Musketeers at home.
Destiny Hunter posted another double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. The senior also totaled four steals against ARC in Morgan County’s first region win.
Sophomore Kymora Smith added 10 points, two rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. Junior Kiwi Lane didn’t record any points but totaled four boards and six assists.
The Lady Dogs led for most of the game, but they could never pull away. The Lady Musketeers kept it close, although they couldn’t rely on their offense to carry them to victory.
Morgan County also played very sloppily on the offensive side of the ball. The Lady Dogs had 28 total turnovers, with 19 of them coming from both Smith and Lane.
Still, Franklin’s squad was able to secure the victory even when the shots didn’t fall. The Lady Dogs went 13-of-49 (27 percent) from the field against ARC on Friday.
Franklin said his team recently found its identity, which will help his girls down the stretch.
“We’ve formed an identity, although we need to become more of a pressing team,” Franklin said last week. “We want to play a lot more man-to-man defense (this season).”
He added that he’s been getting a lot more contributions from different players.
“I’m just hoping we can maintain our consistency. I can’t really pinpoint one player we can lean on because each girl brings a strong attribute to the table,” Franklin said. “So, it’s vital and important for the continuity and chemistry of our team.”
Morgan County faced Region 4-AAA opponent Salem on Tuesday, but will also play league rival Hephzibah (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Eastside (Saturday, 5 p.m.) this weekend.