The Martin Luther King Jr. Lions jumped to a 16-5 lead in the first quarter and held off the Rockdale County Bulldogs for a 52-43 victory to capture the DeKalb County Pre-Holiday Tournament boys’ title at Arabia Mountain.
Jordan Martin hit for 13 of his game-high 16 points in the first quarter to propel the Lions to the big early lead.
Rockdale County flipped the scoring in the second quarter to pull within 19-18 at the half. Jaquan Jones and Dominique Smart had four points each in the third quarter to keep the Lions in front 32-29 heading into the final period of play.
Kevon Harris, Jandan Duggan and Jones had four points each in the fourth quarter as the Lions (10-1) pulled away from the Bulldogs for the win. Dwayne Brown hit for 11 and Conner Ferrell 10 to lead Rockdale County (6-4).
Girls’ Championship
Columbia 42, Chamblee 35
Kyle Felton scored 8 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Columbia Lady Eagles to the tournament title with a 42-35 win over the Chamblee Lady Bulldogs.
Chamblee (5-6) had defeated Columbia a week earlier in Region 6-4A play and lead at the end of all of the first three quarters including 28-26 with one quarter left to play. Ariana Henderson (12 points) hit for eight in the second and Liyah Terrell had eight in the third as the Lady Bulldogs maintained the slight lead.
Felton who had 10 points in the first three quarters hit for eight in the fourth period to lead the Lady Eagles back for the win.
Natalie Williams joined Felton in double figures for Columbia with 10 points. Henderson and Terrell both finished with 12 points to lead Chamblee.
Boys’ Third Place
Stone Mountain 46, Druid Hills 38
Chris Jones hit two three-pointers and was 3 of 4 from the free-throw line down the stretch in the fourth quarter as the Stone Mountain Pirates (10-2) defeated Druid Hills 46-38 to win the boys’ third place trophy.
Stone Mountain had lost a tough one-point game to Martin Luther King in the semifinals and bounced back with win.
Jones finished with 15 points and teammate Tymeer Pierce added 12 for the Pirates. Desham During hit for 19 points to lead Druid Hills (5-7) and Kenneth Gray added 11.
Girls’ Third Place
Arabia Mountain 60, Rockdale Co. 40
The hosts Arabia Mountain Lady Rams struck for 23 third quarter points to blow past Rockdale County 60-40 to take the third place trophy.
Arabia Mountain (6-5) had eight different players score in the third quarter led by Bria Clanton’s five points as they pushed the lead to 21 (50-29) heading into the final quarter. Marissa Mills and Samantha Pringle led Arabia with 12 points each in the game.
Rockdale (6-6) got 15 points from Dazjai McDonald and 12 from Sydney Fields.
Girls’ Consolation Championship
Druid Hills 47, Lakeside 46
Sojourner Hall scored nine points to help Druid Hills rally past Lakeside 47-46 to take the girls’ consolation championship game.
Lakeside had led 34-29 going into the fourth quarter behind the play of Ashlee Graham who had 11 of her team high 14 points over the first three quarters.
Hall had a big three-point play in the fourth quarter and help from Jatasha Hollinger (5 points) and Arteria Benton (4 points) in the Lady Red Devils (5-8) rally. Hall finished with 19 points and Benton added 10 for Druid Hills.
Graham’s 14 points led Lakeside (3-7).
Boys’ Consolation Championship
Redan 58, Chamblee 47
A 22-point third quarter was a big lift for the Redan Raiders on the way to a 58-47 win over Chamblee in the boys’ consolation game.
Darryl Moody was a big catalyst as the Raiders (5-7) pulled away from a 24-21 halftime lead as his eight points led the charge to a 45-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Odell Ferrell (8 points) and Jalen Knowlton (6 points) tried to rally the Bulldogs (3-10) in the fourth quarter, but Tyrone Stuckey who had a game-high 22 points for Redan hit 6 of 7 free throws and a three-pointer to help seal the victory.
Moody finished with 14 and Raqui Owens added 13 to join Stuckey in double figures for the Raiders. Knowlton hit for 16 to lead Chamblee and was joined in double figures by Ferrell with 13.
Girls’ 7th Place
M.L. King 55, McNair 31
Tamia Johnson scored 20 points to lead the Martin Luther King Jr. Lady Lions to a 55-31 win over the McNair Lady Mustangs in the seventh place in the girls’ bracket at Arabia Mountain.
Johnson hit for 11 first quarter points and 15 in the first half as King (1-10) jumped out to a 33-16 halftime lead on the way to their first victory of the season.
Boys’ 7th Place
Lakeside 60, McNair 45
The Lakeside Vikings had four players in double figures on the way to a 60-45 victory over the McNair Mustangs to take the season series 2-1 in the boys’ seventh place game of the tournament.
Bennett Fashel and Jayvon Tate had 13 points each, Adonis Hall added 11 and Najee Kemp put in 10 more to lead the Vikings (5-6). M. December hit for a game-high 18 points to lead McNair (2-10) and Reeves McSwain added 10.