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Calvary and Savannah Country Day took to the hardwood Wednesday night, February 3 at Tippett Gym in front of a limited size crowd. While the atmosphere may have been slightly less hectic than Hornet and Cavalier matchups of the past, the intensity on the court was as heated as ever.

The Cavs earned a huge victory, winning 69-58 over their Region 3-A rivals.

Calvary came out hot, hitting four 3’s in the opening quarter to take an early 21-16 advantage through one. The Cavs led 34-25 at halftime and had four players score 12 points or more.

SCDS reached within striking distance with 5:30 remaining in the contest and the score at 51-47 in favor of the Cavs. By the time 2:05 was left on the clock, Calvary led 63-53 and the game was iced at the free-throw line.

From the charity stripe, Calvary was 14-for-20 (70%) at the line for the game, but it clinched the win by going 10-for-12 in the fourth. The Hornets managed to get to the line just 10 times, making seven of them. In the middle quarters, SCDS attempted just two free throws (both misses).

Freshman CJ Gaines scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Calvary attack. Dayyan O’Neal scored 14 points, Juwan Johnson 13, and Jake Merklinger 12. Riley Bragg scored nine points and was solid on the glass for the home team.

The Hornets were paced by a trio of 10-point scorers in Erik Brown, Rob Spaulding and Gray Grayson. KJ James chipped in another nine points for the visitors.

With just one week left in Region 3-A Private play, the Hornets (12-9, 3-2 Region 3-A) and Cavs (11-9, 2-3) each trailed region frontrunner Savannah Christian (11-8, 4-1) in the standings as the Savannah schools will make up the top-3 seeds in the region tournament ahead of the last team in the region, Aquinas (6-13, 1-4).

The Raiders clinched the region’s 1-seed after the SCDS loss at Calvary.

Country Day will host Calvary on Friday, February 5 in the region finale for each. Regardless of the outcome in that game, the two will meet again in the region tournament’s first round on Friday, Feb. 12 at Savannah Christian. Aquinas and SCPS will meet in the other semifinal and the two winners will face off for the region championship on Saturday, February 13 at SCPS.

SCD — 16 - 9 - 13 - 20 — 58

CDS — 21 - 13 - 13 - 22 — 69

HALFTIME — CDS, 34-25.

RECORDS — SCD 12-9, 3-2; CDS 11-9, 2-3.

Follow Travis on Twitter @JaudonSports and contact him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.

Photo - Freshman CJ Gaines by KC Wetherington Calvary Day School

Optim Orthopedics supports Calvary Day School and Savannah Country Day School Athletics. Calvary's team doctor is Dr. David Palmer and Savannah Country Day's team doctor is Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game.