The final games of 2009 for Malcom Bridge Middle School’s basketball teams came against their cross-town rivals, Oconee County Middle School, last Wednesday in front of a packed gym at MBMS.

The Lady Lightning held the Lady Braves to five points or less in three of the four quarters in their 30-19 win, while the Lightning took an 8-7 lead with 2:51 left in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating the Braves 52-44.

“This is a great rivalry,” said Lightning head coach Randy Cain. “Today is another great example of how they love to compete against each other, but after the game they are patting each other on the back.”

The Lady Lightning didn’t have a player in double-figures in scoring, but got points from eight different players. They were led by Ginny Channell’s eight points, Kelly Willis’ six points and Rachel Cole’s four points. Mary Baker Carter and Sheila Bundy each had three points, while Abby DeFabio, Sadie Binkley and Katlyn Bruner each had two points.

“It’s a very nice win,” Channell said. “I’m proud of my team. We all worked hard and we did it. It was very fun playing versus them. I have some friends on Oconee and it’s great competition.”

Only three players scored for the Lady Braves. Maria Colalancia led the Lady Braves with 14 points. She had 10 points in the fourth quarter. Carrie Neill had three points and Anzley Freeman had two points.

“It got away from us early,” said Lady Braves head coach Chad Willingham. “We broke down fundamentally. The girls got down and couldn’t come back. This is always a tough match-up and we are still a young team. We’ve got some playing in a different position from last year, and it’s been a challenge for us. But they are playing their hearts out.”

The Lady Braves took a 1-0 lead 1:10 into the game on a free throw by Colalancia, but Carter answered with a 3-pointer 15 seconds later. After Freeman tied the game at 3-3 with 2:56 left in the first, DeFabio scored with 1:04 left to give the Lady Lightning a 5-3 lead, which is how the game stayed until the second quarter.

After Neill tied the game at 35 seconds into the second, the Lady Lightning went on an 8-0 run to take a 13-5 lead at halftime. They never trailed again.

“We like being up and we tried to get the job done so we don’t have to play from behind,” Channell said.

The Lady Lightning led by as many as 12 in the third quarter before taking a 19-9 lead into the fourth.

The Lady Braves cut the lead to eight points 55 seconds in, but Bundy responded with a 3-pointer to get the lead to 11. The Lady Braves couldn’t cut the lead to less than 10 points in the rest of the game, and the Lady Lightning came away with their seventh overall win and fifth league win.

“Our defense played exceptionally and Sheila’s 3 came at the perfect time,” said Lady Lightning head coach Kevin Daniel.

The Lady Lightning don’t play again until January 6 against Westside, a team they have already defeated this season. They haven’t lost this season (7-0, 5-0).

“We have to finish what we started,” Daniel said. “I’ve been pleased with how things are going, but people won’t remember for how you start, it’s how you finish. We need to be in shape and we need to be playing our best after Christmas.”

The Lady Braves fell to 4-1. This is Willingham’s first year as head coach. They don’t play again until January 6 at Winder.

“It’s been a challenge with the girls learning a new system, but we are all learning together,” Willingham said. “It’s been a good year so far, but we are still trying to work some things out. I enjoy working with the girls. It’s a great group and I am looking forward to the playoffs, because we expect to be there.”

The boys’ game followed and much like the girls’ game, the Braves had a one-point lead until a run by the Lightning at the end of the first quarter all but put the game away.

With the Braves leading 7-6 following a basket by Zantravius Shields, the Lightning’s Conner Sibley scored to start a 13-1 run to take a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Led by 16 first-half points by Garrett Green, the Lightning led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter. The Braves cut the lead to six points when a basket by Shields made the game 25-19 with 2:03 remaining until halftime, where the Lightning led 30-21.

In the third quarter, Ikwaan Jones cut a 41-28 Lightning lead into a 41-31 lead with six seconds remaining following a lay-up and free throw, but Carter Warden ran down the court and drained a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Lightning a 44-31 lead heading into the fourth.

With the Lightning leading 50-39, Braves player Jalen Bonds scored his only points of the game – a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to eight points with 1:39 remaining in the game.

With 20 seconds left, a basket by Shields cut the lead to 50-44, but Will Martinez sealed the win five seconds later after hitting two free throws.

“I’m proud of the boys,” Cain said. “They slugged it out with a team that is physical. We haven’t played a physical game until today. It was a great team effort.”

Green led the Lightning with 18 points. Sibley had 13 points, Warden had nine points, Kyle Vaughn and Martinez each had four points, and Adam McLean and Ross Crowell each had two points.

“We played very good,” Green said. “We didn’t play selfish. Everyone distributed the ball and we both were physical and out-worked them.”

Shields led the Braves with 15 points. Jones had eight points, Brandon Frazier and Devin Orrell each had six points, Bonds had three points, and Andrew Shuford and Dylan Phillips each had two points.

“We gave up too many easy lay-ups and we didn’t play good team defense,” said Braves head coach Jace Richards. “We played hard, but we didn’t execute on offense. We are playing a lot of seventh graders, and in big games like this, you have to slow it down and execute, and we didn’t.”

The Lightning improved to 4-1 in league play, and don’t play again until January 6 at Westside.

“I have to travel over the break, so that will limit us to what we can do, but we will get into the gym a few times and keep their legs fresh because we roll into the new year and don’t have much time off,” Cain said.

The Braves, after winning their first two games, have dropped their last three games heading into the Christmas break.

“We will regroup but there is still a lot of basketball left, and we are ready to go,” Richards said. “They never quit, they give everything they’ve got and play as hard as they can.”

Matthew Caldwell is sports editor of The Oconee Leader. He can be reached by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (706) 310-1104.

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