Panthers score road win over rival Bulldogs

Published 2:33 pm Friday, January 29, 2016

The Brantley Bulldogs varsity boys squad is at the top of Class 1A, Region 2 opponents on the hunt for revenge against the Georgiana Panthers following a tough loss on the road earlier this season.

Despite having home court advantage, little else changed for the Bulldogs as the visiting Panthers proved unwelcome guests by defeating Brantley 68-40.

Though the Bulldogs’ offense and defense looked greatly improved from last December’s meeting between the two teams, the wealth of offensive options at Georgiana’s disposal became too difficult to overcome.

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Monday turned out to be Georgiana senior Jacquez Payton’s night, as the guard lit up the scoreboard with 27 points and paced the Panthers to an early—and insurmountable—lead.

Richard Boggan renewed his double-double streak efforts by adding another link to the chain with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

JaMichael Stallworth rounded out the Panthers’ top scorers with 10 points.

Adrian Person led Brantley with 10 points.

But it was arguably the girls varsity matchup between Georgiana and Brantley that proved more anticipated, particularly on the heels of a buzzer-beater finish between the two teams last December.  Georgiana’s Miya Riley dribbled the full length of the court with 7 seconds on the clock following a 3-pointer from Brantley’s Kassidy Wilcox, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat and clinching a narrow Georgiana lead.

Though the teams’ second faceoff wasn’t quite as close, it was a hard-fought battle all the same as the Lady Panthers emerged victorious once again by a margin of 34-31, thanks to the hot hand of Miya Riley.

Riley proved clutch throughout the fourth quarter to keep the Lady Bulldogs’ defense on their collective heels.

Riley led the Lady Panthers with 19 points, and Aliyah Person led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points.

The Georgiana varsity boys enjoyed similar success the following night versus T.R. Miller, extending their record to 21-0 (8-0 in the area) with a convincing 70-44 win over the Tigers.

The varsity girls were less successful as the Class 3A Lady Tigers proved too much to handle, handing the Lady Panthers a 55-18 loss.

Both Georgiana varsity squads will be back in action Saturday as the teams travel to Greenville for another local rematch.