The 2018 Southern Exposure Basketball League title games closed out the season this weekend at the JH Morgan Gymnasium in Cartersville. Brighter Days took the SEBL Metro A-League championship with SH-Baseline 2 winning the City Conference B-League title. RAK Outfitters won the women's championship. Brighter Days claims 2018 SEBL Metro A-League title Fifth-seeded Brighter Days captured its first SEBL Metro Conference A-League championship in dominating fashion Saturday, after breaking away from third-seeded Wood Elite Training late in the first half. The teams traded leads early on, but Brighter Days, who turned things around after the mid-way point of the summer schedule, began utilizing its superior size and deft shooting from Kevin Hobbs to open up a 45-32 spread at the intermission. Hobbs downed 20 in the first half alone. In the second half, the seeming weary-legged WET struggled to mount any meaningful run, as Brighter Days began also getting production from bigman Dominique Harper, along with the sure-shooting Marcus Dortch, as the duo tallied 17 and 15 respectively in the final stanza. Levi Hatcher was doing what he could to keep Wood Elite in a position to possibly strike, scoring at a consisent and varying clip, both inside and out. But, Isaac Thomas and Al Mateba were unable to get on track offensively on this night. Quinton Wood was finally able to get a few perimeter shots to go in the latter minutes to make things look interesting, at one point, but it was too little too late, as the Niagel Curtis and Vic Beasley Jr. coached Brighter Days team would make every adjustment need to seal the deal. Hatcher would finish with 20 for WET, while Wood had 19 points, six boards and six assists. Jonathan Mason and Isaac Thomas also had 15 and 10, respectively. For Brighter Days, Hobbs and Dortch shot a combined 19 of 28 on the night, while the both notched 26 points. Harper would collect 17 of his 19 in the second half, as Cory Warn also contributed 10 in the win. For their season-long efforts and helping their respective teams navigate the tough regular season and reach the finals, Hobbs and Wood shared Co-League MVP honors. Marcus Dortch picked up Tournament MVP recognition, as he averaged 20 points and 10.5 boards per game during the Brighter Days tournament run. SH-Baseline-2 wins SEBL City Conference B-League championship Top-seeded SH-Baseline-2 used an 11-0 run late in the second half to overcome an upset-minded SH-Warriors in a nail-biting 75-73 win on Sunday afternoon at JH Morgan Gym to claim the City Conference B-League Title. The two evenly matched squads took turns making runs in the first half, with SHB2 making the first behind, Jeremiah Shaw, who came out hot from the outset, draining five treys within the first eight minutes of the game. SHB2 led by 10 quickly, but the Warriors fought back, Mello Hicks and JR Davis, eventually taking a slim lead. But, Korley Grier got an and-1 to close the half and end SHB2 into the break with a 41-40 lead. In the second half, the Warriors retook the lead early and held it for good portion, as Cody Henderson and Cade Archer took turns generating buckets. But, SHB2 would make their deciding run after falling down 58-54. After the Henderson lay-in putting the Warriors up four, they miscued on consecutive trips to increase their lead, but Shaw would trigger an 11-0, by capitalizing with two strong power moves to the cup following those ill-advised Warrior shots. Later, in the crucial stretch for SHB2, Kam Whitfield would get a bank shot, sandwiched by two Markel Williams' stick-backs. In a two-minute dry spell, the Warriors were suddenly down 65-58, before JR Davis finally answered with two free throws. The damage was done though, as time was winding down and the Warriors could not bounce back. Henderson and Archer led the Warriors with 13 each, while a cold Davis was held to 12, but did manage 13 boards. Hicks also had 10, as Jalen Mckeller got nine points and nine rebounds. DJ Garnigan also had nine points. For SHB2, Jeremiah Shaw had a League MVP-deciding performance with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Markel Williams was named Tournament MVP in averaging 19.5 points and a whopping 17 rebounds. Shaw averaged 24 points in the playoff run. RAK captures 2018 WSEBL title Number two-seeded RAK leads from wire to wire, exacts revenge over top-seeded Elite-77 in impressive 75-58 win on Sunday afternoon at JH Morgan Gym to claim back-to-back WSEBL Championships. Back on July 29th, Elite-77 came back from a seven-point half-time deficit to force an overtime, where they clipped RAK for a 51-50 victory to claim first place in the standings. RAK, on that day was missing a few key pieces, but the script flipped for the Championship game, as Elite-77 didn't have their usual deep roster. Elite-77 was able to keep things close deep into the second, with several opportunities to make a push, as they cut their deficit to six on multiple occasions - even as late as around the five-minute mark. But, RAK's Tess Wright and Ashton Sutton both got free for transition lay-ins, followed by a Bethany Headrick power move in the lane, in which she made the bucket and drew a foul. Her free throw to complete the old-fashioned 3-point play seemingly broke Elite's spirit in the closing minutes as RAK pulled away for a winning margin that wound up actually being closer than the score indicates. Tanisha Woodard scored 18 for Elite-77, while Taya Gibson tallied 17. Bethany Headrick showed why she took home the League MVP honors, downing 23 points and grabbing nine boards, while the sister duo of Carrie and Becca Cheeks combined for 24 points and 30 rebounds, which created a huge advantage in the paint for RAK. JessAnn Nix also came up big, scoring 12 points for RAK while shooting a perfect 5/5 from the field on the afternoon. Carrie Cheeks was also named the Tournament MVP for her commanding play in the interior, averaging 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in tourney play.

The Woodland Lady Cats split a doubleheader with Northwest Whitfield Saturday in games played at Young Harris College in northeast Georgia. Northwest Whitfield won the opener 4-0, but Woodland responded with a 5-4 victory in Game 2. The Lady Bruins took an early lead in the second game’s back-and-forth battle with a run in the first. Woodland posted two runs in the second, but Northwest tied the game again in the third frame. After the Lady Cats went up 4-2 in the fourth inning, the Lady Bruins tied the game again in the fifth. Woodland scored their final go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth and held on for a one-run victory to split the doubleheader. Sarah Baynard (7 IP, 4R, 2ER, 6H, 1BB) needed only 79 pitches and tossed a complete game for Woodland’s win. Bella Carnes paced the Lady Cats’ offense with three hits including a triple and three RBI. Hannah Miller added two hits including a triple and one RBI. Skylar Chappell also contributed a pair of hits. Kailey Baker and Caroline Higdon (double) added the other Woodland hits. Northwest Whitfield took the opener, 4-0, scoring all four runs in the fourth inning. Madi Bentley tossed a complete-game five-hitter for Woodland, but suffered the pitching loss. Three of the runs allowed were earned. She issued only one walk and struck out one. Jordan Duck doubled for one of the Lady Cats’ two hits. Chappell had the other Woodland base hit. Northwest Whitfield is now 1-4 with the doubleheader split. Woodland (1-1) hosts East Paulding Monday at 5:55 p.m., travels to Carrollton Tuesday (5:55 p.m.), and plays at Cartersville Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CARTERSVILLE 7, DARLINGTON 5 Cartersville posted seven runs in the first two innings Saturday and held off visiting Darlington 7-5 for the Lady Canes’ second win of the year. AnnaKate McElhaney (6 IP, 5R, 3ER, 8H, 8BB, 5K) started and went six innings for the pitching win. Colby Ballard (1 IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB, 1K) entered in the final frame to close out the victory. Ballard led Cartersville with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate that included a two-run home run in the second inning. Hope Short and AnnaKate McElhaney had two hits apiece for the Lady Canes. Rylie Harris added a hit and two RBI. Presley Edwards contributed one RBI when hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning. Short, Harris, and Cio Seigler each stole a base. With the loss, Darlington’s season mark slips to 1-2. Cartersville (2-0) travels to Central-Carroll Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch. The Lady Canes will host Woodland Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Troup County Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The Cartersville High School volleyball team opened the 2018 season at the Sequoyah Classic in Cherokee County Friday and Saturday. Cartersville dropped straight set matches to North Cobb Christian (25-7, 25-20) and North Forsyth (25-19, 25-17) and fell in three sets to Kell (set scores not reported). The Lady Canes are scheduled to host Rockmart on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and will entertain Northwest Whitfield, Cherokee, and Bremen in a quad-meet Thursday that also begins at 5 p.m.

Local high school football teams and their fans got a taste of the 2018 season to come as all four Bartow County community high schools participated in scrimmages Thursday and Friday. Woodland defeated Adairsville 37-10 in a matchup that was shifted to Thursday night by school officials after they were notified of a shortage in game officials. Cartersville led 21-0 at halftime and went on to win at Dalton, 35-7, while Cass edged visiting Pepperell at Cochran Stadium, 6-3, on a late field goal by sophomore Kaleb Speights. The regular season begins next Friday (Aug. 17) for three of the four local squads. Adairsville will host Chattooga; Cartersville entertains Allatoona; and Woodland travels to Southeast Whitfield. Cass is idle and will host Adairsville the following week. Local scrimmage scoring summaries: WOODLAND 37, ADAIRSVILLE 10 1Q — WHS — Blake Cash fumble recovery, return for TD 1Q — WHS — Justice Carter 1-yard TD run 2Q — WHS — Jakob Foss 51-yard TD pass to Dawson Wilkins 3Q — AHS — Chris Rodriguez 35-yard field goal 3Q — WHS — Quentin Burgs TD run 4Q — AHS — Connor Crunkelton 52-yard TD pass to Courtney Slocum 4Q — WHS — Asa James TD run 4Q — WHS — Safety CARTERSVILLE 35, DALTON 7 1Q — CHS — Marcus Gary 35-yard TD run 2Q — CHS — Tee Webb 23-yard TD pass to Jackson Lowe 3Q — CHS — Tee Webb 1-yard TD run 3Q — CHS — Evan Slocum TD pass to Amari Orr 4Q — DHS — Catamounts score on fumble recovery 4Q — CHS — Quante Jennings 2-yard TD run CASS 6, PEPPERELL 3 1Q — PHS — Field goal 2Q — CHS — Kaleb Speights 38-yard FG 4Q — CHS — Kaleb Speights 35-yard FG

The Adairsville Lady Tigers dropped their home opener Thursday evening 4-0 to the visiting North Murray Mountaineers. North Murray (2-0) scored three runs in the first and added another in the second inning for their margin of victory. Sophomore pitcher Victoria O’Neal pitched well in relief for the Lady Tigers. She did allow an inherited run to score, but otherwise shut down North Murray after taking the circle in the second inning. The Adairsville offense was limited by some quality pitching and defense by the Mountaineers. Alexa Varner managed the Lady Tigers’ only hit. Adairsville (1-1) hosts Sonoraville Tuesday.

Four Lady Canes had two hits apiece and Colbi Ballard tossed a complete-game as Cartersville held off visiting Cedartown 5-4 Thursday. Ballard, along with Lauren McElhaney, Cio Seigler, and Hope Short paced the Cartersville offense with two hits each. Short had a double and a triple. One of Ballard’s hits was a triple. Presley Edwards contributed a pair of RBI with one hit. AnnaKate McElhaney, Rylie Harris, Mattie Johnson, and Brooklyn Pittman added hits in the Lady Canes’ 13-hit attack. Cartersville took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before Cedartown tied the game in the top of the third inning. The Lady Canes added single runs in the third and fourth frames to take a 3-1 lead, but the visiting Bulldogs knotted the score in the top of the fifth. Cartersville took a 5-3 advantage in the bottom of the fifth with Cedartown’s final run coming in the top of the sixth. Ballard scattered seven hits in earning the pitching victory for the Lady Canes. She allowed four earned runs and issued seven walks with five strikeouts. McBrumby (2 doubles) and Nikolopoulus led Cedartown (0-3) with two hits each. Cartersville (1-0) hosts Darlington at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Woodland hosts Adairsville Thursday night on the “banks of the Etowah” at Wildcat Stadium as the two high school football teams kick off a weekend of pre-season, scrimmage action for local teams. The Wildcats and Tigers will tangle in a matchup that was originally scheduled for Friday night before the two schools were forced to move the schedule up one day. A shortage of available football officials forced the change with kickoff now set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Cartersville and Cass also have scrimmages this week — both scheduled for Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. The Hurricanes will travel to Dalton while the Colonels will host Pepperell as all the local teams get a taste of action under the lights before the regular season cranks up the following week. As usual, all the scrimmages will utilized “controlled” formats and generally include all levels — varsity and sub-varsity — for each of the programs. The 2018 regular season gets underway Friday, August 17 with three of the four locals teams in action. Cartersville hosts Allatoona and Adairsville entertains Chattooga in 7:30 p.m. kickoffs. Woodland will start the regular season at Southeast Whitfield. Cass does not play in the opening weekend, but will host Adairsville in the Colonels’ first game Friday, August 24.

The 2018 SEBL Men's and Women's Playoffs continue at the JH Morgan Gymnasium through this weekend. Updates from playoff games through Wednesday, August 8. Wed., Aug. 8th... Metro A-League Quarterfinals: #3 Wood Elite 88 #6 Franklin Ford 77 Wood Elite Training used a balanced offensive attack to outlast Franklin Ford and move on to the Final Four. WET took a 49-42 lead into the half, behind 14 first half points by Quinton Wood. In the second half, Franklin made several pushes when the stepped up their full court pressure, with JR Smith and Talique Cochran getting defensive conversion buckets. The pressure bottled up the perimeter shooting for WET, but their adjustments to the press eventually began finding Isaac Thomas and Al Mateba, who combined for 20 points during the latter stages of the game. Davis and Cochran finished with 26 and 20, respectively, as Jozell Payne scored 11 and snatched 18 boards. Elijah Windom also got 10 in the loss. Quinton Wood paced WET with 18, while Mateba and Thomas each had 16 and Chapin Rierson 12. Ray Reeves and Darrell Wilkins both contributed eight, as Wood Elite will now face #7 Bartow Braves at 7:30pm on Thursday evening in the first Final Four clash. #7 Braves 80 #2 Summer Hill-1 77 (2OT) In the summer league atmosphere, to say a team is upset is sometimes relative, so the Braves relatively upset #2 seeded Summer Hill-1, coming on yet another exciting buzzer beater – this time a long three-pointer by Brice Kellogg. Back on July 21 the Braves lost 89-58 to SH1, but were missing Tim Fortenberry. Several roster additions along the way and the defending SEBL Metro A-League are again one of the dangerous teams, particularly because they shoot it very well, and they never give up. SH1 led the entire way in this one, including 36-28 at the half. With 10 minutes remaining, SH1 held a 51-42 spread, until defensive mishap after defensive mishap, allowed Fortenberry and Kellogg to poke daggers from the outside. When those two weren’t knocking down treys, the Wilson twins took turns snagging offense boards and capitalizing. Kellogg’s three with 18 seconds left in regulation sent the game to OT knotted at 63-all. The teams fought to a tie again, at 69 apiece. Each OT period, SH1 answered first, but the Braves never quit, fighting back, sending the game to a second OT on a buzzer shot by Fortenberry, and then in the second OT period actually taking their first lead of the game at 77-76 on none other than an offensive board and putback by Joel Wilson. Antonio Wade re-tied the score at 77-all after hitting the tail end of two free throws. And, the Braves called timeout with 3.2 ticks left on the clock and advanced the ball to half court to set up a play. The inbounds went to Kellogg on the right wing, who launched the shot that would ‘relatively’ end the Summer Hill-1 season. Davy Fisher paced SH1, with 21 while Markel Williams was 9 of 9 in from the field for 18 points, 16 of which came in the opening stanza, rarely touching the ball in the second half. Keith Ray finished with 10 and Jeremiah Shaw eight. Wade had a subpar seven, and struggled at the line, where he had several chances to ice the game late. The Braves were led by Fortenberry’s 26, many coming from his 8/13 night from beyond the arc. Josh Wilson had another gigantic night with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while his brother Joel cashed in 12 points 13 boards. Kellogg, who finished with 11 points scored all of those in the latter stages of the game. The Braves advance to the SEBL Metro A-League Final Four for the second straight season, and will now have the difficult task of battling the talented Wood Elite squad on Thursday evening at 7:30pm. #1 Baseline-1 95 #8 Shaw 83 Shaw didn’t show up to play literally or figuratively. Indicative of their season, Shaw’s depleted roster could not keep up for the long haul with the league’s top-scoring team in Baseline-1. With borrowed players, Shaw tried to make the game interesting, as Jalen Lovett and Cade Archer were able to generate some offense. Baseline-1 took a slim 43-41 advantage into the halftime break. But, in the second half, the Baseline scoring duo AJ Mosby and Ryan Davis were just too much, along with CJ Bennett getting in the act. Baseline-1 cruised to the win and into the Final Four. Lovett would finish with 29, while Archer had 19 and Jeremiah Shaw 13. For, Baseline-1, Mosby downed 31, followed by 26 from Davis. Bennett finished with 19 and Ashton Burley 14, as Baseline-1 will move on to take on a talented Brighter Days squad in the other semi-final matchup on Thursday evening at 8:30pm. SEBL Metro A-League Final Four – Thursday, August 9, 2018: 7:30pm - #7 Bartow Braves vs. #3 Wood Elite Training 8:30pm - #5 Brighter Days vs. #1 Baseline-1 SEBL Metro A-League Quarterfinal Matchup last Tuesday night: Brighter Days was the first through to the Metro A-League Final Four, after using a strong second half to race past the Dream Chaserz #5 Brighter Days 86 Dream Chaserz 64 A tightly contested game through the first half, turned into a blow out for Brighter Days, as they heated up when it counted the most, whereas someone put a lid on the Dream Chaserz basket in crunch time. Behind the scoring of Brannon Hopkins, the Dream Chaserz established a slim lead through the first 10 minutes of the game. But, Brighter Days would begin to turn the tide, with balanced scoring from Shaq Calhoun, Marcus Dortch and Elijah Hirsh, who combined 27 points in the opening half. Hopkins dazzled with 24 points, but Brighter Days still took the 40-39 lead into the break. The lead swayed in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Dream Chaserz got away from what seemed to be working in the first half and the perimeter dried up, because the ball wasn’t making it to the middle before the shots flew. The Dream Chaserz pounced on the opportunity and separated themselves with a series of driving buckets and transition threes from Marcus Dortch and Dominique Harper, who would combine for five treys in the second half. Logan Shoffner did his best to keep the Dream Chaserz in range, but couldn’t do it by himself as Hopkins could only muster up three points in the second half. Brighter Days cruised into the SEBL Final Four, where they met #1 Baseline-1 in a quarterfinal matchup. Brighter Days will jump it off in that Final Four tilt on Thursday evening at 8:30pm. Hopkins would finish with 27 on the night for the Dream Chaserz, while Shoffner had 21. Shon Redding was held to six, but pulled down 14 rebounds in the loss. For Brighter Days, Harper scored 19, on 5/9 shooting from behind the 3-point line, while Calhoun had 17 and Dortch 15. Hirsh would finish with 14 points and eight boards. Kevin Hobbs and Cyrus Banks each also collected seven points for Brighter Days, who snapped a two-game losing skid at the right time. On Tuesday evening at JH Morgan Gym, the top two seeds in the City Conference B-League secured their tickets to the title game. #2 SH Warriors 81 #3 BC Infinity 38 Neither team could seem to find the basket in the early going, but Infinity managed to crawl out to an 9-4 lead, chiefly behind the three treys Dominique Richards downed. The Warriors worked back and took their first lead at 11-10 on two free throws from Cade Archer at the 9-minute mark of the first half. Later, Jason Greenburg nailed a three, followed by a drive from JP Pritchett, which was accompanied by a free throw, to put Infinity back up briefly at 16-15. But, over the final 2:30 of the half, the Warriors closed on a 9-0 run, behind buckets from Mello Hicks and Cody Henderson, along with a three from JR Davis. When the dust settled, Infinity went into the break trailing 26-16 – a low scoring affair to that point, but things seemed to be brewing for the Warriors. Things boiled over to start the second half, as Chaz Phillips opened the half dropping a three, which triggered Davis to go on a spree where he canned four threes in a stretch that saw the Warriors bolt out on a 25-2 run. A frustrated Infinity team had fallen down 51-18 and were essentially out of the game mentally. As the minutes began to tick down, the Infinity’s JP Pritchett was able to generate some offense, but the Warriors’ Kevane Washington and Archer added to insult to injury combining for four more triples to close the game out. Pritchett finished with 19 for BC Infinity (6-3), while Richards was held to nine. For the Warriors, Davis downed 21, while Hicks had 17, Archer 16 and Cody Henderson 10. The Warriors (8-1) advance to the City Conference Championship Game on Saturday at 4:30pm. #1 SH-Baseline-2 65 #5 GSM Ballers SH-Baseline-2 turned around a lull in first half that had them facing a 21-14 deficit and went on a big 15-2 run to close the half with a 29-23 lead. The SHB2 run continued into the second half, as they worked out to a double-digit lead, behind the steady scoring of Jeremiah Shaw and Markel Williams. As has been the case all summer, GSM was very competitive for a period of time, but in the midst of their self-destructive nature, they consistently failed to realize they were actually in the games they were playing. Still within striking distance, Trase Fezzia seemed to be the only GSM player who was intent on playing to win, scoring nine points down the stretch, trimming the SHB2 lead to just 10 with a little under four minutes remaining. But, it was too little, too late, as SHB2 took advantage of GSM’s insistence on inner-squad tension, closing the game on a 10-2 streak. Fezzia led GSM with 15, despite only playing sparingly, while LD Strickland reached double-figures with 10. For SHBD2, Shaw led his team again with 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Markel Williams turned in a monster effort with 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Antoine Wesley contributed 12. SH-Baseline-2, who also improved to 8-1 overall, moves into the City Conference Title game, on Saturday at 4:30pm, where they will take on #2 seeded SH-Warriors. City Conference Finals: Saturday, August 11, 2018 #2 SH Warriors (8-1) vs. #1 SH-Baseline-2 (8-1) SEBL City Conference B-League Quarterfinals: BC Infinity 80 Team Alumni 57 #6 seeded Team Alumni came into this City B-League quarter-final matchup feeling still riding the satisfaction of getting their first win to end the regular season, and they started out like gang-busters, jumping out to a double-digit lead on #3 seeded BC Infinity, who was struggling to find the basket. Talique Cochran drove the lane for a left-handed bucket, to put Alumni up 31-13 with 3:30 left in the first half and it seemed as if it was just not going to be Infinity’s day. But, suddenly the flood gates opened, after Hunter Johnson hit is second three of the half, followed by steal and lay-in from JP Pritchett. After an Alumni miss, Pritchett buried another trey. Then, Dominique Richards would drain yet another tri-fecta. Alumni miscued again, and Pritchett got off a desperation double-pump shot from beyond the arc, that would fall through at the buzzer, cutting the Alumni lead down to 33-27 going into the break – and begin to tell the real story of the game. To start the second half, Richards would set the tone by hitting a triple right off the bat, reducing the Infinity deficit to only 33-30. Courtney Gamble scored for Alumni, but Jason Greenburg quickly answered with a three, to make it 35-33. Greenburg would then drive for a bucket, draw the foul and after being true on the shot at line, put Infinity up for the first time at 36-35. That was all Infinity needed, as Dominique Richards would hit a string of five threes, the last being a rare four-point play, after being fouled while falling out of bounds. The personal run for Richards broke the game open. Down the stretch Pritchett and Greenburg would combine for 14 points, as they took turns with an array of penetration moves and floaters, of which Alumni had no defensive answer. For Alumni, Cochran would finish with 24, while Dustin Glenn turned in a solid night with 20. For BC Infinity, Richards and Pritchett and each downed 25, while Greenburg had 13. Hunter Johnson finished with nine points, as BC Infinity shot a very impressive 15-32 from beyond the arc. BC Infinity will now move on to face the #2 seeded SH-Warriors. GSM Ballers 73 Toyo-2 68 #5 seeded GSM used a balanced scoring attack to oust #4 seeded Toyo-2. Toyo-2, who came in as the #4 seed in the playoffs, had risen to #2 in the City Conference standings at one point, before slumping towards the end of the regular season. In this quarter-final tilt, the lead changed hands on numerous occasions, with GSM settling on a slim 34-33 lead at the half-time break. The second half proved to be much the same, as both teams took turns trading leads, until GSM broke open a 62-all score, going on a 9-2 run, behind an athletic attack for a basket from LD Strickland, followed by a floater by Blake Clay. The run was capped by a put-back from Sammie Frazier and a 3-point dagger from Strickland, putting GSM up 71-64 with just over two minutes to go. Toyo-2 had chances, only down 72-66 with over a minute, they forced consecutive turnovers, but instead of punching the transition opportunities in for quick twos, opted for long errant trey attempts, essentially giving the victory to the Ballers. Eddie Melvin led all scorers with 18, coming on a perfect 7/7 night from the field, while Donlin Hinton and Josh Christian each had 13, as Toyo-2 saw its inconsistent season come to a close. GSM, who will now move on to take on #1 seeded SH-Baseline-2 in the semis, got 16 from Sammie Frazier, as Bryan Owens had 15, Strickland 14, Pat Printup 10 and Trase Fezzia nine. The Ballers were 27 of 53 overall from the field, while netting an efficient 20 of their 33 attempts inside the arc. #5 GSM Ballers vs. #1 SH-Baseline-2 GSM (2-7) will attempt to knock off another higher seed when they meet up with #1 seeded SH-Baseline-2 (7-1). But, don’t let GSM’s overall record confuse you, as they have been very competitive all summer and pushed SHB2 to the brink in a 61-57 loss back on July 31 – a game which could have easily gone either way. In that loss, GSM did not have the services of Sammie Frazier, who could be the x-factor in the Final Four meeting between these two teams. SEBL Metro Conference A-League Play-in Games on 8-5-2018: Bartow Braves 69 The OG’s 67 (OT) The #7 seeded Braves escaped the OG’s on a controversial lay-in from Joel Wilson at the buzzer in overtime, to move on to the quarterfinals. The OG’s, who led for much of the game, were up 32-30 at the half. Dee Henderson and Brian Griffin combined for 18 of the OG’s point total in the first stanza, while Josh Wilson provided a chuck of the Braves offense with 12 points by the mid-way point. The leads continued to trade in the second half, when Avery Morris’ floater put the Braves up 58-55 with 4:58 remaining in regulation. After trading misses, Joel Wilson muscled up for a bucket and drew a foul. He missed the shot at the line, and the chance to tie it with 3:03 showing. Wilson would draw another foul, and miss both, but on the second attempt, OG’s Dee Henderson slipped in the lane while going for the defensive board, and the Braves Josh Wilson grabbed the offensive rebound instead. The extra possession found Mike Fabre’ for a short shot off the glass, to put the Braves up. But, a long inbounds pass to a streaking Shauquille Hopson put the OG’s back up 60-59 with 1:56 on the clock. Hopson then drove the lane for a floater, to put the OG’s up by three with only 30 seconds left. The Braves were in a must-make situation and got two looks, getting offensive rebounds after each attempt, when Richard Olson got a good kick out to Brice Kellogg, who canned the big three to send it to overtime. Joel Wilson took a pass over the top, and made the lay-in, putting the Braves up 66-64, 20 seconds into the 2-minute overtime period, but with 1:24 left, Henderson flipped a pass to the corner to Hopson and he drilled the three from the deep left corner. The OG’s led 65-64. After a Braves’ turnover, Henderson connected on a floater, to increase the lead to 67-64. But, a quick pass down court to a snow birding Olson, had the OG’s racing to defend. He made the layup and drew the foul, sinking it calmly to re-knot the score at 67-all with 45 second left in OT. The OG’s decided to work the clock down for a potential last shot, but Hopson shot early, with about 25 seconds left and missed. Olson grabbed the rebound and got it down quickly, where he gave the ball to Fabre’ at the top. Josh Wilson was at the high post and the OG defenders were keyed on him, when Joel Wilson snuck into the lane behind the defenders. Fabre’ floated the pass in with only 4 seconds showing and Wilson who was bumped, lofted the ball up, where it caught the corner of the top of the backboard and fell through at the buzzer. The OG’s were led by Hopson with 15, while Morris and Griffin each had 13. Henderson also had 12, as the OG’s season comes to an end. For the Braves, who again played without sharpshooter Tim Fortenberry, got 19 from Joel Wilson, while Josh Wilson finished with 16, as did Fabre’. Olson contributed 11 in the win. Shaw Industries 92 Toyo-1 89 (OT) Shaw trailed for much of the night, but forced overtime on a lay-in from Kwame Peek, followed by a long-three from Kevin Hammett, then handled business at the freethrow line to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face off against the #1 seed, and undefeated, Baseline-1 squad. In the first half, Bobby Smith was virtually unstoppable, continually driving and dropping buckets or drawing fouls. He helped Toyo-1 build an eight-point spread, at one point, before Shaw was able to work back into to it, with short run from threes by Hammett and Jalen Lovett. Lovett executed continual silky smooth moves to the basket, while no one for Toyo-1 could seem to stay in front. Toyo-1 led 37-36 at the half. The offense picked up for both teams in the second half, as the game sped up considerably. Smith was still scoring at a good clip for Toyo-1, while Lovett and Peek really turned it up a notch for Shaw. Up 82-77 with 1:29 left in regulation, Hammett came up with a bucket the lane to trim the Toyo lead to three, but Smith drove left and scored to put Toyo back up 84-79. After a Shaw miss, Toyo had the chance to milk clock but wound up turning the ball over with just under a minute left. With Toyo more focused on arguing the call, Malik Rush sent the long pass the length of the floor to Peek, who laid the ball in, trim the score to three. LD Strickland then drew a foul with 37 second left, but missed the front end of the one and one. On the ensuing possession, Shaw’s Peek drew a foul of his own, missing both. Forced to foul, Shaw sent Smith to the line with :16 ticks left for the front end of the one and one, and the chance to ice the game. He missed and across half court Rush flipped the ball to Hammett on the left side, where he drilled the 28-footer, sending the game into OT. Toyo won the jump ball, but couldn’t draw first blood. After the miss, another long pass and miss by Peek found Baily Cooper for an offensive rebound and putback and Shaw was up 86-84. With 58 seconds left, Smith drove the right baseline on Lovett, who tried to get a charge call. Smith scored to tie it up at 86. Lovett was then fouled on the inbounds and expertly sank both shots. Smith drove again and missed, but Shannon Woods grabbed the offensive board and was fouled in the process. Woods sank one of the two, and Toyo trailed 88-87 at the 45 second mark of the OT period. Looking to drain clock, Shaw worked it down to 20 seconds and Toyo was forced to foul Rush, who made both. Quan Martin then drove the length and made the tough basket to trim his team’s deficit to 90-89 with only 9 seconds showing on the clock. Toyo quickly fouled Lovett, who hit both. Down three, Toyo called a timeout to advance the ball to half court and set up a play in hopes of forcing the second OT. But, Smith missed. The ball was tipped out to Eddie Melvin, who also missed with time expiring, allowing Shaw to advance to the quarterfinals with a 92-89 victory. Smith led Toyo-1 with 30, while Donlin Hinton had 19 and Strickland 13. Christian also had 11 in the loss. For Shaw, Lovett took game-high honors with 34, as Hammett had 20 and Peek 16. WSEBL Final Four Matchups: Often during the summer, the success of your team not only depends on all the necessary intangibles, such as team work, ball movement, solid defense and generally just making good plays on the court, but it also relies on teams having consistent personnel, especially when it counts the most. #1 seeded Elite-77/Lady Dynasty and #2 seeded RAK were the two teams, who were able to experience regular attendance of its key players, which is exactly why they will be facing each other for the 2018 WSEBL Championship on this Saturday at 5:45pm. Elite-77/Lady Dynasty 66 Summer Hill-3 39 #1 seeded Elite-77 (8-0) indicated why they're the top team in the first semi-final match-up of the day on Sunday, displaying their depth as several reserves came off the bench to produce the fuel needed to propel their team to the finals - claiming an easy win over #4 seeded Summer Hill-3. Elite-77 took a commanding 34-18 lead into the half-time break. Iesha Alexander had a typical effort, but it was Alyssa Nicholson and Kimora McClinic, who combined for 23 points for Elite-77. Rachel Irby managed to reach double-figures for SH3, with 10 points, while Chris Banks and Julia Newbert each netted eight, as their season came to a close. Nicholson finished with 13, while Alexander had 11 and McClinic 10. Tanisha Woodard also had eight, with Re’Tavia Floyd and Tarrah Gibson getting seven and six, respectively, as Elite-77 advances to the championship game. RAK Outfitters 52 Baseline-3 28 #2 seeded RAK (7-1) jumped out to a 20-point spread on the outmatched Baseline-3 squad relatively quickly. Baseline-3, playing without Ariel Anderson and Sandy Almon, who both provide a great deal of help on both ends of the court, could not keep up with the bigger RAK team. RAK waltzed into intermission with a big 28-8 lead. Things didn’t change much in the second half, other than Julia Roberson and the young Alissa Winters, combining for a couple of three points for Baseline-3, to briefly trim RAK’s lead down to 18. But, a couple of balanced buckets from RAK’s Sarah Byers and Becca Cheeks negated any real comeback thoughts. Melissa Winters led Baseline-3 with six points, while Amber Bowen, Alyssa Winters and Roberson all collected five. Carrie Cheeks and Byers each had 12 for RAK, while Tess Wright had seven and Becca Cheeks six. WSEBL Women's Championship: Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018: #2 RAK Outfitters vs. #1 Elite-77/Lady Dynasty...The stage is set, as the two top WSEBL will be pitted against each other. These two teams fought out a 51-50 overtime regular season thriller back on July 29th, with Elite-77 grabbing the win on a late three-pointer by Tanisha Woodard. This should prove to be another great tilt. Tipoff is set for 5:45pm on Saturday, August 11 at the Summer Hill Complex, inside the confines of JH Morgan Gymnasium.

The Adairsville Lady Tigers pounded out eleven hits in their season opener Tuesday night at Region 6-AAA foe Ringgold and came away with a come-from-behind 7-6 victory. Senior Sierra Tanner paced the offense with three hits followed by fellow senior Havyn Isaac (photo) and sophomore Sadye Johnson with a pair of hits each. One of Isaac’s hits was a go-ahead, two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning. Sophomore Chloe Souders also added a pair of RBIs for the visiting Tigers. Adairsville took an early 5-0 lead with two runs in the first inning and three more in the second, but the Ringgold Lady Tigers scored a run in the fifth and took the lead in the sixth inning with five runs that included a three-run homer. A pair of sophomores did the pitching for Adairsville. Victoria O’Neal started in the circle and worked the first 5 and 1/3 innings. Taylor Rhoades picked up the pitching victory with 1 and 2/3 innings of relief and five strikeouts. Adairsville (1-0) plays its home opener and sub-region opener Thursday against North Murray at 5:30 p.m.

The Bartow-Gordon Middle School Athletic Association recently released its 2018 girls and boys golf schedule. All matches are played at the Calhoun Elks Lodge and Golf Club located at 143 Craigtown Rd., NE in Calhoun or Fields Ferry Golf Club located at 581 Fields Ferry Dr., NE. 2018 B.G.M.S.A.A. Golf Tuesday, August 21 Calhoun Elks GC — Adairsville, Cartersville, Cass Fields Ferry GC — Calhoun, Red Bud, Woodland Tuesday, August 28 Calhoun Elks GC — Calhoun, Cartersville Fields Ferry GC — Ashworth, Cass, Woodland Thursday, August 30 Fields Ferry GC — Red Bud, Adairsville Tuesday, September 4 Calhoun Elks GC — Ashworth, Red Bud, Cass Wednesday, September 5 Fields Ferry GC — Calhoun, Adairsville, Cartersville, Woodland Tuesday, September 11 Calhoun Elks GC — Calhoun, Cass Fields Ferry GC — Ashworth, Adairsville Thursday, September 13 Fields Ferry GC — Red Bud, Cartersville, Woodland Tuesday, September 18 Calhoun Elks GC — Ashworth, Adairsville, Woodland Fields Ferry GC — Calhoun, Red Bud, Cartersville, Cass Tuesday, September 25 Calhoun Elks GC — Calhoun, Cartersvile, Cass Fields Ferry GC — Ashworth, Woodland Thursday, September 27 Fields Ferry GC — Red Bud, Adairsville Monday, October 1 Calhoun Elks GC — Cass, Red Bud, Cartersville, Adairsville Fields Ferry GC — Calhoun, Ashworth, Woodland Tuesday, October 2 Calhoun Elks GC — BGMSAA Girls Championship Thursday, October 4 Fields Ferry GC — BGMSAA Boys Championship

Connor Justus continued his successful return to the Inland Empire 66ers of the California League this week with another multi-hit game on Sunday and the Pulaski Yankees of the Appalachian League welcomed Cartersville’s Anthony Seigler to his second professional club. Meanwhile, Sam Howard left Sunday night’s game with Triple-A Albuquerque after being hit by a line drive in the opening frame. SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes (5th yr. pro; LHP; Colorado Rockies organization; Triple-A Pacific Coast League; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS)… Since returning to the Isotopes July 28 following a second stint with the MLB Rockies, the Bartow southpaw has made a pair of brief starts and left Sunday’s game in the first inning after being struck by a line drive. Howard went only two innings in a start against Colorado Springs on July 30. He allowed a walk and a second inning, two-run home run before being lifted. In Sunday’s start against New Orleans, Howard left the game with only one out in the first inning after he was hit in the left shoulder by a liner off the bat of Baby Cakes’ second baseman Isan Diaz. The latest report by Rotowire and CBS Sports indicated Howard’s injury was still being evaluated. Howard has a 3-6 mark this season in 16 starts at Albuquerque with a 5.50 ERA and 70.1 innings pitched. The Isotopes are in fourth place in the PCL’s Pacific Southern Division, trailing El Paso by 10.5 games. CONNOR JUSTUS — Inland Empire 66ers (3rd yr. pro; SS; L.A. Angels organization; Advanced-A California League; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… the offensive success for Justus since returning to the 66ers from Double-A Mobile on June 22 continued this past week. The 23-year-old has now hit safely in 29 of 40 games at Inland Empire and now has a dozen multi-hit games including another Sunday night. The middle infielder has a .288 batting average in the 40-game stretch with the 66ers that includes over 150 at-bats. He has six home runs and 27 RBIs with a robust .380 on-base percentage. After hitting only .186 in 57 games in the Southern League, Justus has now raised his 2018 batting average to .230 in 97 games and 341 official at-bats. His defensive work has continued to impress. He sports a .955 fielding average in 374 total chances with both clubs. He has played 528 defensive innings and been part of 49 double plays with his two teams in 2018. Inland Empire (26-18, second half standings) is currently third in the California League’s South Division. The 66ers trail Rancho Cucamonga by six games. ANTHONY SEIGLER — Pulaski Yankees (1st yr. pro; C; N.Y. Yankees organization; Rookie Appalachian League; Cartersville HS)… since joining the Appalachian League Pulaski Yankees last Tuesday, Seigler has hit safely in three of four starts and is 3-for-14 (.214) with four walks in that stretch of games against Burlington and Elizabethton. He has also scored a pair of runs hitting in the two-hole of the order in each of his starts. Seigler started his professional career in the Rookie Gulf Coast League with Yankees West before moving last week to the slightly higher level rookie league. In his first 50 official at-bats in the pro ranks, he has a .300 batting average with one homer and four RBI. Pulaski (20-25) is currently in fourth place and 8.5 games behind the Princeton Rays in the Appy League East Division. The Yankees continue a three-game series at Princeton Monday through Wednesday nights before traveling to Burlington for three games Thursday through Saturday and host a three-game series with the Danville Braves Sunday through August 14.

Cartersville High School’s Jackson Lowe has been named 2018 pre-season All-State by Georgia High School Football Daily in Class AAAA. The 6-5, 242-pound senior tight end is committed to the University of Tennessee. The Hurricanes hit the gridiron this Friday night with a road scrimmage game at Dalton. GHSFD 2018 Preseason Class AAAA Best Player in Classification Kyle Hamilton According to Marist coach Alan Chadwick who has been in the business for 34 years and has 365 victories, Hamilton is the best all-around player - offense, defense, special teams - that he has coached. Hamilton had 55 solo tackles and six interceptions from his safety position. He had 28 catches for 485 yards in an offense that throws very little. Hamilton had 460 return yards and one kickoff return for a touchdown. Hamilton is committed to Notre Dame. OFFENSE QB (pro) - Max Johnson, Oconee County QB (dual) - Damekus Taylor, Thomson RB - Steele Chambers, Blessed Trinity RB - Tahj Gary, Woodward Academy TE - Jackson Lowe, Cartersville WR - Ryan Davis, Blessed Trinity WR - Jamari Thrash, Troup OL - Connor Brown, St. Pius OL - Dean Colton, Marist OL - Christian Coulter, Thomson OL - Fredrick Norman Jr., Ridgeland OL - Bayard Taylor II, Columbus ATH - Zion Puckett, Spalding PK - Marshall Golick, Woodward Academy DEFENSE DL - J.R. Bivens, Blessed Trinity DL - Ryan Mannelly, Marist DL - Travon Walker, Upson-Lee DE/LB - King Mwikuta, Troup LB - Milton Adams, Baldwin LB - J.D. Bertrand, Blessed Trinity LB - DeMarcus Mitchell, St. Pius LB - Jacorius "Joko" Willis, Troup DB - Keevan Bailey, Salem DB - Jamari Brown, Eastside DB - Kyle Hamilton, Marist DB - Zach Ranson, St. Pius P - Brandon Farrell, Marist