MGTC Titans drop two against Bobcat squads

mbrown@sunmulti.com

For one half of basketball

Wednesday, Middle Georgia Technical College’s Lady Titans showed no signs of

life, especially on the offensive end.

Though things changed

drastically in the second half, it still wasn’t enough for an upset bid of

GJCAA Division I opponent East Georgia State College at home. The Lady Bobcats

of Swainsboro, up by as many as 21 in the first half, held on to win 69-61.

The 41 points the host Lady

Titans scored in the second half helped up the overall shooting percentage on

the night to .338. Point guard Maranda Trim of Moultrie logged all 40 minutes

for Middle Georgia Technical and had 12 points. She tied Perry’s Ashley West

for the game-high total.

West also pulled down 10 rebounds

before fouling out. Warner Robins’ Keiona Black scored eight with 11 boards and

five assists from a guard spot. Forward Kameelah Wynn came off the bench, only

playing in the second half, and scored 11 points with six rebounds.

East Georgia led 39-20 at

halftime, but it was Trim having the final say with what looked like an

out-of-control shot that found its way through the rim. As porous as things

looked for the Lady Titans in those 20 minutes, head coach Lawanda Brown

brought out a fully different-looking bunch for the second half.

West scored four quick

points and starting forward Shanequa Hudson put back an offensive board in an

overall 6-0 run. Middle Georgia Tech also had a 5-0 run, Black taking the

basketball in against the Lady Bobcat press. At the 14:30 mark, and on her

first field-goal attempt, Wynn sank a 3-pointer bringing her team within 10,

44-34.

East Georgia only needed two

3-pointers to keep the margin at double figures, but the Lady Titans did a

better job holding down their own turnovers and finding more scoring chances.

When it was 49-38 on West’s put-back, the home team would give up turnovers and

offensive boards. East Georgia was also in the double bonus with 10 minutes to

play, but did not capitalize with a high percentage at the line (.536 for the

game).

A former Northside Lady

Eagle, Tyra Jackson, came off Brown’s bench to contribute four points, setting

the Lady Titans up for another push. Wynn blocked a shot and put back a second

shot, and Trim’s move in transition highlighted an 8-0 run cutting the lead

down to seven, 55-48, with six minutes left.

Wynn and Jackson scored

again making it 57-52 Lady Bobcats at 4:32. Wynn also had two key steals in the

half, and the forward Jackson blocked a shot. Middle Georgia Tech was as close

as four, 60-56, as West scored from a takeaway at 4:10. But that was her team’s

last field goal for a long stretch, and East Georgia put back a miss at the

foul line to cap a 5-0 run for 67-58 at 2:13.

The only time the Lady

Titans led in the first half was 3-2, and all of that was on foul shots. The

Lady Bobcats scored consecutive stick-backs before West scored the hosts’ first

field goal at 12:57. But most Middle Georgia Tech possessions resulted in

giveaways, and East Georgia sprinted out ahead 19-5 with 11 in a row.

Black broke that string on a

3-pointer at 9:18. Trim connected with a one-handed try, and Tynisah Walton

worked on the boards for a third-chance basket. She had two stick-backs in the

half. East Georgia had 10 of its first-half points from the offensive glass.

TITANS FALL

Jordon Johnson and D.J.

Felder, both of Hinesville, combined for 43 points (22 and 21) Wednesday to

lead East Georgia State’s men to a 95-77 basketball victory against Middle

Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins.

The Bobcats from Swainsboro

shot an amazing 59 percent from the floor. The guard Johnson sank three

3-pointers. Felder, at 6-7, made one trey, but did most of his damage inside

with nine other field goals and a team-leading six rebounds.

Middle Georgia Tech, under

head coach Bobby Brown, got 21 points and 10 rebounds from center Dwayne

Bryant, who also stands 6-7. Dublin freshman guard D’Meco Rozier was 6-for-8 at

the foul line in scoring 18 points, and Burke County guard Richard Yancey

chipped in 12 points.

Felder’s 3-pointer came in a

game-opening 8-1 East Georgia run. When the host Titans finally scored from the

floor, Bryant nearly tore the rim off on a dunk from a lead pass by Jeffery

Gulley.

The Bobcats had an advantage

in numbers, using 14 players to nine by MGTC, and was able to go full-court on

a press. The first two field goals the home team had were on press breaks,

Marcus Walker finishing the second one. But the score at that time became 12-5.

Yancey sank a 3 around two

stick-backs from the Bobcats. The Titans only trailed by three, 18-15, when

Yancey scored again at 11:34. Back-up Devonte Smith stole back the basketball

against the press, and Gulley went to the line for one make.

Another bench player,

Darrell Anthony of Albany, made a steal and assist in transition to Bryant.

Reserve Teddy Ethridge, coming out of a timeout, fed Bryant against the press.

Ethridge later pushed the basketball upcourt, and at 7:07 MGTC enjoyed its one

and only lead, 23-22.

When Byrant and Gulley

worked together for a score, it was the last make by the Titans until the final

two minutes. During the cold spell, the Bobcats scored 12 in a row. On an

alley-oop slam out of a timeout, East Georgia was up 38-26. The visitors

executed one more half-court set to beat the halftime buzzer and lead 42-29.

The Bobcats allowed Middle

Georgia Tech numerous chances for a second-half comeback by not scoring for the

first three minutes. Yancey and Bryant scored, but Felder went on a personal

6-0 tear beginning at 16:28. On Felder’s put-back, the lead went to 58-35.

Ethridge provided some late

highlights for home fans with two steals, a slam and assist to Rozier. His team

was down by 30, but his efforts cut that margin to 20 at the nine-minute mark.

TITANS-ALBANY TECH

Middle Georgia Technical

hosted Albany Technical College’s basketball clubs Monday.

In the women’s game, Albany

Tech won 68-48. West had 15 points, going 7-for-11 at the free-throw line, and

Trim 11, shooting 6-for-8 at the stripe.

Things were better for the

Titan men, who took a 13-point lead at halftime, 34-21, and held on to win

74-67.

Bryant, in 37 minutes of

action, was 8-for-12 from the floor for 18 points. That was also his number in

the rebounding chart. Gulley put in 14 points and dished out four assists, and

Rozier had 13 points with three assists. Jonathan Morine of Albany, in 12

minutes, sank three 3-pointers.

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