Varsity Basketball

Girls Basketball – The Lady Patriots hosted the Lady Blue Devils Friday night.  Even though Elbert won the game 63-31, for nearly the first half of the game the varsity girls stayed with Elbert.

Jessica Pulliam looking for points.

        OC really looked good the first quarter.  Everything that OC threw up went in the basket.  In fact, OC held the lead until the last 56 seconds of the first quarter when Elbert pulled ahead on a foul shot.  However, OC stepped up and tied the game at 15 each when the buzzer ended the quarter.

        OC continued to do well deep into the second quarter, Trenetta Smith finally got on the board with a basket, Latoria Royal and Taylor McDaniel continued putting points on the board as did Tanisha Eberheart. 

Time Out! For the Lady Patriots and Coach Ellis.

        At 3:56 left in the second quarter Elbert scored seven unanswered points in 35 seconds while at the same time somebody put a hex on OC’s goal thus shutting down any Patriot offense the remainder of the game.   

        OC would only score eight more points for the entire second half, the same amount they scored in the second quarter.  Kristen Baker would be OC’s high scorer of the game followed by Royal then McDaniel and Smith.  Emily Barnett, Eberheart, Aubry Fearnow and Jessical Pulliam would each put a basket on the board. 

Oglethorpe would post 17 rebounds for the game five of which belonged to McDaniels and four more going to Pulliam.  The remaining rebounds would be spread across five different players.  OC would also mark ten steals and five blocked shots.

Boys Basketball – The Elbert County boy’s varsity took Oglethorpe to school on how to play basketball winning the game 78-36. 

Shaq Fleming setting up the play.

For much of the first quarter both teams played hard, fast basketball but neither could really gain control of the game.  The quarter ended with OC only behind by five but if every shot either side threw up had went in the score would have been much higher for both teams.  But whatever offensive hex that plagued the OC girls it spilled over onto the boys.

By the second quarter Elbert had found their stride and the basket.  That’s not to say that OC couldn’t move the ball down the court or make shots at the basket, but it was like someone had put a stopper on OC’s goal because nothing would go through. 

Clay Ogle against two Elbert defenders.

Clay Ogle made several fast break trips from one end of the court to the other and not one lay-up would go in.  The same thing happened with Xavier Eberhart.  He’d get the rebound and head to the other end, it was beautiful, but he would have better luck at hitting the lottery than getting the ball to fall through the net.  OC’s effort at tipping the ball in after a missed lay-up was no better.  OC could touch the ball two, three, four times and it refused to go in for points.  Elbert on the other hand, if they missed a lay-up, they always seemed to get the tip in no matter how many times it took.

On the evening Eberhart was high scorer with 11 with Maurice Freeman and Josh Jarrells close behind with eight each.  Shaq Fleming had four, Ogle and Javon Jenkins both had two and Jay Fleming rounded out OC’s scoring with a fourth quarter foul shot. 

Freeman, Eberhart and Gordon would each pull down four of OC’s 17 rebounds and Freeman would have six blocked shots.

Both the varsity boys and girls travel to East Jackson on Tuesday, January 24.