COVINGTON, Ga. — The battle between the Newton Rams and the Eastside Eagles commenced Saturday afternoon. After two close games, it was the Rams that came away with the sweep on the road.
The Lady Rams surged in the final minutes to defeat the Lady Eagles 42-38. In the boys game, Eastside kept pace but Newton separated late to earn a 63-52 victory.
The Lady Rams’ defense steps up late to secure win
The Lady Rams came away with the victory after key plays late.
Down 38-34 in the final minutes, Newton senior Sanaa Tripp hit a deep three pointer to bring the Lady Rams within one point.
On the next possession, Eastside was blocked at the rim, which allowed Newton to score the go-ahead basket on the fast break.
For Lady Rams’ head coach Jawan Bailey, the key in the final minutes came on defense.
“We tried to get our better defenders on the floor,” Bailey said. “Adding more ball pressure and seeing if we could create turnovers to get transition points.”
The basket came from Zoey Jackson, who put in the lay up to give the Lady Rams a 39-38 advantage.
Late free throws from Newton added onto its lead to secure the win on the road.
After winning via rout in their last contest against Hampton, Bailey spoke about what he liked most from his team’s close win on Saturday.
“We are just looking for consistency, we are playing really good in spurts,” Bailey said. “We are who we want to be for different parts of the game, but not a four quarter game.”
The Lady Rams started off the game strong due to the play of Tripp.
However, the Eastside surged in the late stages of the frame to tie the game at 12-12 going into the second quarter.
The second frame saw both teams struggle to score as Newton kept a 7-5 scoring advantage.
The Lady Rams went into halftime with a 19-17 lead.
In the final two frames, both teams kept pace with each other as it came down to the wire.
The start of the fourth quarter favored Eastside.
Three pointers from Jailyn Williams and Aysia Spivey gave the Lady Eagles a four-point lead early in the frame.
Both teams traded back-and-forth before Newton took the lead in the final stages of the contest to grab the win.
Tripp led Newton with 16 points while Spivey led the Lady Eagles with 4 points.
The win moves the Lady Rams to 6-3 on the year. The Lady Rams will be back on the court in the Cherokee Invitational against the Seaforth Hawks (6-1, 3-0) Wednesday, December 20.
For the Lady Eagles, the loss moves them to 7-2 on the year with a 3-0 record in Region 8-AAAAA play. Their next game will be a region matchup with the Jefferson Dragons (8-2, 2-0) Tuesday, January 2.
Rams prove too much for the Eagles down the stretch
The Eagles pulled within four points late in the contest, but the Rams prevailed to come away with a 63-52 win.
From the beginning of the game, Newton pushed the pace with its size and shooting.
The trio of Davin Neal, Tim Praither and Jabez Jenkins led the Rams to a 22-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
Playing in a packed Eagles’ gym, Newton head coach Barry Browner was pleased with how his team handled the atmosphere.
“I was really proud of the way they kept their heads,” “[It was] just how they fought coming into a hostile environment. These guys have really been putting in work. We are 8-1 going into the Christmas break, I am really excited.”
Both teams traded baskets in the frame as Newton’s 10-point lead remained until the final minutes of the half.
With less than a minute left, Eastside strung together baskets to get within 10 points.
In the final seconds of the first half, Marion Eubanks Jr. stole the ball on the inbound and turned it into a layup.
Eubanks’ basket set the game into halftime with Newton leading 33-26.
In the third frame, Newton created separation.
The surge was highlighted by a lay up from Tay Jefferies while being fouled.
After Jefferies knocked down the free throw, Zach Harden hit a three pointer on the ensuing possession for the Rams.
Going into the final frame down by ten, the Eagles mounted another rally.
After a three from Donny Evans early in the quarter, Trebor Edwards scored a second three pointer later to trim Newton’s lead down to five.
Outside of the Eagles’ scoring, traveling calls on the Rams began to be a factor late in the game as Eastside continued to get closer.
With the game within four points, Newton’s AJ Belcher scored a lay up while being fouled to convert the three-point play.
On the following inbound, Jenkins stole the pass and slammed the ball through the rim.
After an Eagles miss, Jefferies scored another layup.
In a matter of a minute, the Rams ripped off seven points to put the game on ice.
After earning his first county rivalry win as the Rams’ head coach, Browner gave all the credit to his staff.
“My assistant coaches have really helped me get through this week, they have been really important,” Browner said. “Coach Jones, Coach Evans, Coach Marv and Coach T. It was a group effort and a family effort. He [Jones] has played in this rivalry before so it was important to him. It was more for these guys [my coaching staff].”
Praither and LJ Rivers led their teams in points with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The 63-52 win is the seventh consecutive win for the Rams, moving them to 8-1. Newton will play again at the Tournament of Champions at Wheeler High School against the Greenforest Eagles (4-3, 0-0) Wednesday, December 27.
For the Eagles, the loss drops them to 4-5 on the year with a 1-2 record in Region 8-AAAAA play. Eastside will be back on the court against the Marietta Blue Devils (5-6, 0-1) in the Lemon Street Classic Friday, December 22.
