COVINGTON, Ga. — Tuesday night, the undefeated and fourth-ranked Newton Rams hosted their cross-county rival Eastside Eagles who were still looking for their first win of the season.
The Eagles will have to keep trying as Newton routed Eastside 89-52, with the Rams once again led by star junior Ashton Hagans who registered his fifth consecutive triple-double.
Hagans finished with 19 points, 19 assists and 10 rebounds, matching teammate Tyrease Brown with the highest point totals of the game.
Opening up, the Eagles kept it close as with just under five minutes left in the opening quarter the score was 8-6. Then the Rams took over and went on an 11-3 run to close out the quarter, taking a 19-9 lead after one.
Opening the second quarter, the Rams kept it flying with a 17-3 spurt, highlighted by senior Dre Butler’s emphatic blocked shot off the back board, symbolizing the strength of Newton’s defense, particularly after the first quarter.
Eastside managed to squeeze out some more points in the closing minutes of the quarter, but the game was already getting out of hand. Newton took a commanding 38-22 lead into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, Hagans, who had been relatively quiet, began to take over as he posted 13 of his 19 points in the second half. He did a great job of feeding teammate Tyrease Brown the ball, setting him up for three three-pointers in the third quarter.
Eastside guard Dai’Veon Robinson was a bright spot for coach Brent Wren’s squad. Robinson got into the scoring action with nine points in the third quarter and ended with 13 points, making him the only Eagle to eclipse double digits.
It wasn’t enough to keep Hagans, Brown and company from increasing their lead to 62-39 after three.
The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Rams flourished and the Eagles offense faltered. Newton spread the wealth around to close the game as seven different players scored in the fourth, helping the Rams outscore Eastside 27-13 in the closing quarter.
Armani Harris added 14 points and Butler chipped in with 12 as the Rams took the 37-point victory and kept their undefeated record intact while the Eagles will continue to search for their first win Friday when they host Region 4-AAAA foe Druid Hills at 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Newton will head to Memphis this weekend to face a major challenge in the Memphis vs. ATL showcase when it squares off against Memphis East Friday at 10 p.m. EST. Memphis East is ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national poll, and is considered the top team in Tennessee.
On Saturday at 3 p.m., Newton will take on Hamilton High, another Memphis city school, to close out its time in the showcase.
