Seven fourth-quarter turnovers proved too much to overcome Friday as the Griffn High boys basketball team lost for the seventh time in the last eight games, falling 45-34 to Region 3-AAAA Div. A first-place Alcovy at The House.

Sixth-place Griffin (5-12 overall, 2-6 subregion) led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter in a game where the two teams stood deadlocked 18-all at the half. Griffin — which lost to Alcovy 70-28 on Dec. 10 — cut Alcovy’s lead to one, 31-30, this time with less than 30 seconds to play in the third quarter. But the Bears committed two turnovers down the quarter’s stretch which allowed the Tigers to carry a 33-30 lead into the fourth.

It foreshadowed events to come as Griffin turned the ball over seven more times in the fourth quarter where they were outscored 12-4 by Alcovy. The Tigers (16-3 overall, 7-0 subregion) remained undefeated in subregion play as they won their seventh in a row oveall and for the 10th time in the last 11 games.

“They turned up the defensive intensity and pressured us into some key turnovers right there in the beginning of the fourth quarter,” said first-year Bears head coach Prelvis Paster. “And you’re not going to beat a team like that with that many turnovers in the fourth quarter, they’re too good.”

Kelvin Waldon led Griffin with 10 points. Teammate Trey Willis added 9. Michael Tucker scored a game-high 15 to lead Tucker, while teammate Derrius Mathis added 11 as the Tigers swept Griffin by a combined margin of 53 points in the regular season series.

In the girl’s game, Griffin was outscored 22-2 in the fourth quarter of a 69-27 loss to Region 3-AAAA Div. A first-place and Class AAAA No. 3-state ranked Alcovy. It was the fifth loss in the last six games for fifth-place Griffin (7-9 overall, 3-5 subregion), while Alcovy (17-2, 7-0) won for the seventh time in the last eight games.

Jahmiya Clemons led Griffin with 10 points, while Alcovy senior Kate Palo scored 14 to reach the 1,000-point career mark — which was acknowledged with a stoppage of play and announcement by the PA announcer — and teammate Meagan Tucker added a team-high 16.

Alcovy led 22-5 at the end of the first quarter, 31-15 at the half and 47-25 going into the fourth quarter. The Lady Tigers swept the regular season series by a combined margin of 71 points.

Griffin High, which was playing a late non-subregion game Saturday night at Northside-Warner Robins, doesn’t play against until Friday when Ola comes calling at The House. The Griffin girls defeated sixth-place Ola (10-11, 2-6) by a count of 53-44 on Jan. 3, while the Griffin boys lost to fifth-place Ola (11-10, 4-5) by a 58-54 count on the same night.

GRIFFIN HIGH BOYS

Date |Opponent |Time

11/21 |@ Valdosta+ |L 65-59

11/22 |@ Coffee+ |L 67-42

11/23 |@ Lanier Co.+ |L 53-38

11/29 |Lamar Co. |L 54-53 OT

12/2 |Union Grove* |W 44-32

12/3 |@ SW Macon |W 36-34

12/6 |@ Alcovy* |L 70-28

12/10 |SW Macon |W 42-37

12/21 |@ Lamar Co.+ |W 50-49 OT

12/23 |@ Mary Prsns+ |L 85-50

1/3 |@ Ola* |L 58-54

1/6 |Woodland* |L 51-37

1/7 |@ Howard |L 53-40

1/10 |@ Dutchtown* |L 64-55

1/13 |Jones Co.* |L 57-49

1/17 |@ U. Grove* |W 61-60 OT

1/20 |Alcovy* |L 45-34

1/21 |@ Nside-WR |6:30

1/27 |Ola* |8:30

1/28 |Howard |6:30

1/31 |@ Woodland* |7:30

2/3 |Dutchtown* |8:30

2/4 |@ Jones Co.* |8:30



* — Region 3A-AAAA games

+ — Tournament games



GRIFFIN HIGH GIRLS

Date |Opponent |Time

11/21 |@ Lowndes+ |L 53-26

11/22 |@ Ware Co.+ |W 51-41

11/23 |@ Valdosta+ |L 67-38

11/29 |Lamar Co. |W 60-37

12/2 |Union Grove* |W 61-39

12/3 |@ SW Macon |L 50-47

12/6 |@ Alcovy* |L 63-34

12/10 |SW Macon |W 56-44

12/21 |Lamar Co.+ |W 52-49

12/23 |@ Mary Prsns+ |L 54-44

1/3 |@ Ola* |W 53-44

1/6 |Woodland* |L 46-32

1/7 |@ Howard |L 61-55

1/10 |@ Dutchtown* |L 63-30

1/13 |Jones Co.* |L 53-34

1/17 |@ U. Grove* |W 54-41 OT

1/20 |Alcovy* |L 69-28

1/21 |@ Nside-WR |5:00

1/27 |Ola* |7:00

1/28 |Howard |5:00

1/31 |@ Woodland* |6:00

2/3 |Dutchtown* |7:00

2/4 |@ Jones Co.* |7:00



* — Region 3A-AAAA games

+ — Tournament games