COVINGTON, Ga. — In matchups between highly contested region foes, the Newton Rams and Archer Tigers split their games Tuesday night.

The girls game came down to the wire, but a last minute effort from the Lady Tigers pushed them past the surging Lady Rams 57-56.

Offense was at a premium in the boys game, but a dominant fourth quarter from the high-flying Rams gave Newton a 51-39 win at home.

Rams break away late in defensive battle

The battle-tested Rams (10-4) faced another tough test Tuesday night in the form of the 12-5 Tigers, who were coming off a one-point loss on the road to Grayson less than a week prior.

From the opening quarter on, defense was the story as Newton came away with the 51-39 win.

After getting a win like that, head coach Barry Browner spoke about the team’s ability to adapt and play any style.

“We knew that Archer was tough — they are a tough, hard team,” Browner said. “They’re going to make you grind it out, they’re going to hold the ball — they had success with Grayson doing that the other night. They do a really good job over there. We can play any style. We can play up-tempo, we can play half-court.

“My coaches and my players, they do a good job of making adjustments. Today, [it was] the first day of school back and it was a lot going on. They grinded it out. A win's a win in this region. It is one of the toughest regions in the country.”

Neither team seemed to allow good shot opportunities early, which led to a 8-8 tie after the opening frame.

As they have all year, senior Ted Neal and Marcus Smith controlled the floor for the Rams as Newton managed to score almost every point inside the paint on Tuesday.

In fact, the Rams managed to win the game despite not hitting a single three-pointer.

Outside of Neal and Smith, the Rams received quality games from a few players that came off the bench, according to Browner.

“I got to shout out TJ Sands. TJ did a good job coming in,” Browner said. “Over the break, his practices have become really good. I think TJ has done a really good job for us. His energy has been up, and he came off the bench as a spark plug. Zach Harden is a spark plug as well. We needed energy tonight and those guys gave it to us.”

The second quarter ended similar to the first as both teams entered their respective locker rooms at halftime deadlocked at a 21-21 tie.

In the final two frames, the Rams began to break away.

It began in the third quarter with Neal, who scored half of the team’s 12 points in the frame as Newton led 33-26 going into the fourth.

From there, Newton played their best eight minutes of the day as it outscored Archer 18-13 in the span.

Five Rams scored in the final quarter, but Smith’s eight points set the tone and gave Newton all the separation it needed for the region win.

The final minutes saw multiple Rams take to the air for high flying dunks that served as exclamation points in the win.

Neal and Smith led Newton in scoring with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Harden followed with nine points.

With the victory, Newton goes to 11-4 on the year with a perfect 4-0 record in Region 4-AAAAAA play. 

Next up is the Battle of the Rams between Newton and Grayson on Thursday, Jan. 9.

Newton and Grayson have been seated as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in region play for years, and Browner is ready for another chapter of the rivalry.

“You get to this part of the season, we’ve been looking at each other,” Browner said. “We have been peeking around the corner looking at each other. They have been watching us and we have been watching them. It’s going to be a heavyweight showdown. We know what Grayson brings to the table, we have a lot of respect for those guys — I coached there, I have been close with those guys for a while.

“I think it is going to be fun, but I think our preparation is our preparation. It’ll be about us, it won’t be about Grayson. If we do the things we are supposed to do, then we will be okay.”

Grayson will enter Thursday’s game with a 14-1 record and the team is ranked No. 1 in Georgia and No. 7 nationally, according to MaxPreps.

Lady Tigers capitalize late to earn region win

The Lady Rams (12-1) and the Lady tigers (15-1) entered Tuesday’s game as two of the top three teams in Region 4-AAAAAA as well as two of the top 20 teams in Georgia, according to MaxPreps.

Four quarters later, the game fit the bill.

Newton began the game with what turned out to be their best quarter of the day.

Sophomore guards London Smith and Mya Perry controlled the pace early for Newton, but it was senior Tania Bailey that led the scoring. 

Bailey recorded eight of the Lady Rams’ 18 points in the frame as Newton grabbed a 18-9 advantage.

The second quarter saw the game begin to even out as the Lady Tigers accumulated runs to trim the Lady Rams’ lead.

With seconds left in the half, a missed opportunity for the Lady Rams came back to bite them. Newton lost possession of the ball and Archer’s Saniya Sharper shot a half-court buzzer beater that caught nothing but the net as it reduced the Lady Rams’ lead to four.

Coming out of the intermission, Newton faced another sluggish quarter. This allowed for Archer to close in on the tie with the help of Braylen Whitehead, who scored eight of the Lady Tigers’ 15 points in the frame.

By the end of the quarter, Newton narrowly led Archer 40-39 with only eight minutes left.

With the game in the balance, the two region foes went blow-for-blow.

The fourth quarter is where Perry began to take over the game for Newton.

After getting three quick scores on the inside, Perry managed to get to the line three more times before the end of the game. However, Perry only converted on one of her six shots from the line.

With the game still close, Archer landed the shot that meant the most.

In the final minute, the Lady Tigers got downcourt and found Sharper. Once again, Sharper nailed what was her third three-pointer of the day to give Archer a 57-56 lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Newton moved the ball around in the final moments before it eventually landed in the hands of Smith, who’s shot missed off the rim for the Archer win.

Multiple Rams got involved in the scoring, but it was Perry that led the way with 14 points. Smith and Bailey finished with 11 points apiece.

The close loss is only the Lady Rams’ second defeat of the season as they move to 12-2 on the year and 3-1 in Region 4-AAAAAA play.

Another test awaits Newton on Thursday, Jan. 9 when they take on the defending state champion Grayson Rams (15-1) in a rematch of last year’s region championship.