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The St. Andrew's men's basketball team has steadily been growing into one of Savannah's top teams and they have enjoyed some successes over the past few years. However, one of the things that has eluded them is a region championship, having lost in the championship game in each of the last three seasons. The Lions broke that streak tonight by beating Frederica 47-44 to bring home their first region title since 2004.
It wasn't easy though as Frederica (17-7) came flying out of the gates. Jacob O'Conner poured in three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help Frederica pull ahead 19-11 before the first break in action. The Lions came roaring back in the second quarter though to shut the Knights down. Frederica did not score a point in the first five and a half minutes of the second quarter and Zayden Edwards poured in 9 points to help St. Andrew's outscore Frederica 21-5 to grab a 32-24 lead before halftime.
Frederica pulled back after halftime to bring the score level at 36 by the end of the third quarter and set the fans in attendance up for a nail biting conclusion. Both teams only managed to score 2 points over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. But then the Lions started to make things happen. After running 45 seconds of the clock with a long series of passes, Zyere Edwards found Kaleb Lofton wide open in the corner and he drilled the three-pointer to put St. Andrew's up 41-38. O'Conner was able to make a running layup on the next possession for the Knights but Lofton promptly went the length of the court to grab two more points for the Lions. Zayden Edwards got a quick steal as Frederica tried to inbound the ball, made the layup and the Lions found themselves up 45-40 with 2:41 left in the game.
The Knights stayed composed and knocked down two jumpers to pull back within one with one minute left on the clock. After taking a time out, St. Andrew's went into ball control and forced Frederica to make a series a fouls to send them to the free throw. Unfortunately for the Knights, they sent Zyere Edwards to the line and with 17 seconds left on the clock he drained both free throws to put the Lions up by three. Frederica missed their desperation shot on the ensuing play and St. Andrew's sealed the victory.
Kaleb Lofton led all scorers with 16 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. Zayden Edwards finished the game with 15 points while also grabbing 6 rebounds and 6 steals. Zyere Edwards contributed 12 points in the winning effort. William Jobe led Frederica with 12 points.
St. Andrew's (47): Kaleb Lofton 16, Zayden Edwards 15, Zyere Edwards 12, Mahany 3, Jallah 1
Frederica (44): William Jobe 12, Jacob O'Conner 11, Vic Riden 10, Reilly 4, Triplett 4, Preston 3
St. Andrew's School Regular Season All-Region Honors
Zyere Edwards
Zayden Edwards
Kaleb Lofton
Rod Conley Jr.
Price Mahany
GISA AAA Region 2 Coach Of The Year
Mel Abrams
Photo - St. Andrew's School Athletics Twitter
