Fayette boys and girls move on in basketball playoffs

Fans of Fayette County basketball had plenty to cheer about.

The Fayette County High School boys and girls basketball teams hosted first round state playoff games tonight and the results were good. The undefeated Lady Tigers stayed perfect with a 56-46 win and the boys won 78-55.

In the girls game, the Tucker Lady Tigers hung with Fayette through the first half. Fayette County led 25-24 at the break and started to spread their wings a bit towards the end of the third quarter. Momentum was theirs in the fourth quarter as Anma Onyeuku scored eight of her game high 21 points in the final period. Tessah Holt, who committed to attend and play basketball at the University of Florida earlier in the day, scored 17 points and Chasity Welch added 10.

“Anma got into some early foul trouble, but we battled Tucker’s size and controlled the boards in the second half,” said head coach John Strickland about his team’s momentum shift in the second half. “Tucker comes from a tough region and we survived.”

The boys game also started out close with the Tigers maintaining an 18-17 edge at the end of the first quarter, but team defense and a balanced attack had the Tigers up by double digits for the rest of the game. Five Fayette County players finished in double digits: Malcolm Brogdon (19), Cody Simmons (15), Maurice Williams (13), Adam Smith (12) and Addison Flynn (10). Trevor McGill finished with nine points but head coach Andre Flynn credited McGill with being a difference maker.

“His rebounds and energy made a difference in the game,” said Flynn of McGill’s performance. Flynn knows his team can score and was proud to see so many players step up, especially on defense.

Fayette County’s boys and girls will host the second round of the state playoffs on Tuesday night with the girls playing at 7 p.m. and the boys scheduled to tip-off their game Wednesday at 7 p.m.