Fourth quarter punch kills Dougherty’s hopes – Albany Monroe beats Dougherty 59-48

ALBANY — An attempted punch with 1:21 remaining during Friday night’s rivalry game between Monroe and Dougherty marred what was otherwise an intense but controlled battle between two of Georgia’s best Class AAA teams at Monroe High School. No. 6-ranked Monroe defeated No. 8-ranked Dougherty 59-48.

Both teams played strong, physical defense with some man-to-man, some full-court and half-court traps. Monroe was whistled for 25 fouls during the game, Dougherty 19.

Late in the game with Dougherty down by seven, the Trojans were anxious to find a way to come back. Senior guard Jai’on Burns had the ball and was caught in one of those intense Monroe traps. Burns hit the floor and Monroe’s Lorenzo Stills reached for the ball with Burns on the floor.

Burns reached up and swung at Stills and jumped to floor, ready for more. Burns’ teammates quickly pushed the senior guard away from Stills and stopped the altercation from getting worse.

Fans in the sold-out gymnasium left their seats and headed toward the exits. Stills was awarded two free throws for an intentional foul and Dougherty’s hopes of a comeback were gone.

The game was close throughout. The two teams were tied 12-12 in the second quarter before Monroe stole the ball on three consecutive trips, including steals by Stills and Jaquan Maddox, to push to 24-15 lead late in the second quarter. Jacoby Barron hit a long three just before the halftime buzzer to close the gap to just six at the half — 24-18.

Burns scored eight points in the third quarter and after he swished two free throws, Dougherty was down 34-33 before Monroe went on another run. Barron swished another three at the end of the third to put the score at 42-37 heading into the final quarter.

As the two teams battled in the fourth quarter, Monroe’s Jaquan Maddox shined underneath the basket again. Late in the game he pulled down a rebound, turned and threw the ball to the other end of the court where Zacorey Peterson was waiting, Peterson caught the pass and scored easily to push Monroe’s lead to 51-41 with three minutes remaining.

Stills led Monroe offensively with 22 points, hitting 10 of 11 free throws — including the final two that killed Dougherty’s hopes. Justin Burns added 19 for the Tornadoes. Kaleke Singletary-Jinks led Dougherty with 15 points and Burns finished with 12.

The win is Monroe’s 11th straight and improves the Tornado record to 13-2. Dougherty drops to 11-6 on the year.

Dougherty and Monroe will both play Monday in the MLK Showcase at Monroe High School The Trojans will take on Early County at 2 p.m. Monroe will take on Calhoun County at 7 p.m.

By Joe WhitfieldJoeWhitfield[email protected]