Middle Braves make furious comeback late; fall short to Red Devils

A hard-fought, unlikely comeback by the middle Braves boys basketball team came up just short Thursday at the middle school, where the Bowdon Red Devils squeezed out of the gym with a 53-50 victory, in one of the wildest games ever played between the two bitter rivals.

It was a game that featured several strong runs by both teams throughout the game. The Braves had an 11-5 lead after the first quarter before the Red Devils stormed back with a 21-5 run to take a 26-16 lead at halftime.

The Devils extended the lead to sixteen points 42-26 heading into the fourth quarter when the game got very interesting as the Braves stormed back with a furious rally tying the score at 44 on an Austin Miller 3-point shot with under two minutes to play.

Despite the big rally, the Red Devils were able to hang on after horrible free throw shooting by the Braves who made only three of 23 attempts in the game including a brutal two of 16 in the fourth quarter alone.

Nonetheless, the team showed marked improvement on both ends of the court and appear to be primed for a positive run come playoff time. Jaden Moreland and Torrence Allen led the way offensively with 16 and 14 respectively.

On Tuesday the boys got a big win over Bremen for the second time this year knocking them off 50-33 in their best performance of the season.

Coach Allen Sikes was very pleased after the game. “We have been challenging the guys to play all four quarters well and today they did that. We have continued to improve and get better with every game and practice,” stated Sikes.

Moreland again led the scoring with 11 including two 3-pointers while Miller, Allen, and Christian Murray all had eight points. Kendez Goode added six and Quindon Dunson scored five.

The Braves travel to Carrollton Tuesday to take on the Trojans before returning home Thursday to battle Mt. Zion on eighth grade appreciation day.

The boys will likely be in action the following Monday at Mt. Zion in the division tournament.

(Photos courtesy of Khris Martin. To see more middle school basketball photos visit Khris Martin Photography & Videography Services on facebook)