For the third straight time, Calvary and Savannah Country Day boys met on the basketball court to do battle, as the rivalry’s 2021 trilogy concluded Friday, February 12 at Eckburg Arena on the campus of Savannah Christian. It was the first of two semifinal games in the boy’s Region 3-A Private basketball tournament.
The Hornets produced an excellent first-half performance to lead 31-16 at the break, and made timely shots down the stretch to withstand a late Calvary charge and win 58-50, earning a spot in Saturday night’s Region title game versus Savannah Christian (7 p.m.).
Savannah Country Day (14-10) was led by freshman big-man Timo Moeller’s 13 points while Calvary was paced by freshman Jake Merklinger’s 14-point effort. A 19-9 advantage in the second quarter helped to make it a double-digit lead for most of the second half for the Hornets, but the Cavs narrowed the SCD lead to six points (48-42) with 2:30 remaining.
With 1:01 to play, SCDS had pushed its lead to 56-46 and sealed the victory with free-throw work. The Hornets were 19-30 at the line while the Cavs finished 10-15.
Calvary, the region’s No. 2 seed behind top-seeded Savannah Christian, had beaten Country Day in two consecutive games to close out the regular season on . Entering Friday’s matchup, the Cavs had won three of their last four games while the 3-seed Hornets were losers in three of their last four.
Rob Spaulding added 11 points for Country Day and Reese London nine. Senior Hornet point guard Erik Brown had a rough shooting night, but still managed to make an impact in the closing minutes, scoring five of his seven points from the charity stripe in the final quarter.
Dayyan O’Neal scored 13 points for the Cavs, who play at 4 p.m. Saturday versus Aquinas in the consolation game. Juwuan Johnson tallied 10 points and Riley Bragg seven in the loss.
Calvary and Aquinas play at 4 p.m. Saturday at SCPS in the region’s third-place game.
SCD — 12 - 19 - 11 - 16 — 58
CDS — 7 - 9 - 12 - 22 — 50
HALFTIME — SCD, 31-16.
RECORDS — CDS 12-10; SCD 14-10.
SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN 53, AQUINAS 34
The top-seed in the Region 3-A Private four-team bracket, Savannah Christian continued its hot-streak in 2021 and its chance to play for a Region Championship Saturday night thanks to the victory over the 4-seed from Augusta.
After beginning the season with three straight losses, Savannah Christian has now won 10 of its last 11 games. The Raiders have won seven straight inside of Eckburg Arena.
Aquinas (7-16) led 16-15 after eight minutes of play, but SCPS (15-8) took the lead early in the next stanza, and never trailed again. The Raiders won the second quarter by a six-point margin and took a 28-23 lead into the halftime break.
Senior stars Parker All (17 points) and Cooper George (10) paced head coach Robert Walsh’s squad all evening, especially so in the second half when the duo was routinely playing off each other in the pick-and-roll game at the top of the key.
The Raiders won the fourth quarter by a score of 18-5.
Justin Lloyd scored 15 points for the Irish and, as a team, the visitors scored just 11 points after halftime.
AHS — 16 - 7 - 6 - 5 — 34
SCP — 15 - 13 - 7 - 18 — 53
HALFTIME — SCPS, 28-23.
RECORDS — SCPS 15-8; AHS 7-16.
GIRLS
SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY 56, ST. VINCENT’S 25
The No. 2 seed in the girl’s Region 3-A Private bracket, SCDS knocked off 3-seed St. Vincent’s in the first of four games at Savannah Christian Friday. Country Day will play the region’s top seed, Calvary, in Saturday’s Region Championship. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Eckburg Arena.
SVA (9-8) and SCPS play at 2:30 p.m. in the consolation game Saturday. The winner will earn a 4-seed in the GHSA State Playoffs while the loser is a 4-seed.
CALVARY 71, SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN 59
Calvary led 24-11 after the first quarter, 36-27 at halftime, and 56-38 through three.
Hannah Cail led all scorers with 24 points for Calvary. Mahkayla Premo scored 23 and Nevaeh Hamilton 11 in the win. The Raiders got 22 points from Faith Bullied and 13 from Mary Grace Zeigler.
The No. 1 seed in the girl’s Region 3-A Private bracket, Calvary (17-2) entered ranked as the No. 9 team in Class A Private, according to SandysSpiel.com. Calvary will look to earn another region championship under head coach Jackie Hamilton on Saturday, when the Lady Cavs take on 2-seeded rival Savannah Country Day at 5:30 p.m.
Follow Travis Jaudon on Twitter @JaudonSports and contact him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
Photo - Savannah Christian Prep Sports Information Department
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.
