Usually the reward for winning your region is getting to play your way into the state tournament by facing a first round opponent that isn’t especially strong. That wasn’t that case tonight as No. 1 ranked Hebron had to face No. 7 ranked White County in the first round of the Class AAA state basketball tournament. Hebron, the No. 1 seed from 8-AAA took down White County, the No. 4 seed from 7-AAA, 68-53, in a physical, hard fought contest at Hebron. The Lions started off hot opening a 7-0 lead and was up 9-4 when the visiting Warriors went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. It would be short lived and the only lead White County would hold after an Aniya Moodie three pointer tied it which ignited a 9-0 Lion run to end the first quarter. Hebron led 18-12 heading into the second. Nothing came easy for either team, but the Lions held strong outscoring White County 17-11 in the period to take a 35-23 lead into halftime. The Warriors came out in the second quarter trying to cut into the Hebron lead but only made a one-point dent. Hebron led 50-39 entering the fourth quarter. White County was able to get the lead down to eight at 52-44 with 6:11 to play. But that was as close as they would get. Hebron outscored White County 18-14 in the fourth to secure the 15-point win. As tough as it was for Hebron to have to face a fellow top 10 team in the first round, it was equally unfortunate for a team as good as White County to have to face Hebron so early in the tournament as well. With a more favorable draw, the Warriors could have made a deep tournament run. But their season comes to an end with a record of 19-10, playing in arguably the deepest region in AAA. They were battle tested for sure and fought hard tonight. Hebron received tough efforts from the entire team in a physical battle. The sophomore duo of Aubrey Beckham and Kerra Butler came up big in this game. Beckham led the scoring with 22 points and also led in assists with six. She also pulled down four rebounds and navigated most of the fourth quarter with four fouls. Kerra Butler put up another double-double pouring in 19 points while pulling down 21 boards. She also had four blocks as she dealt with the Warriors’ physicality throughout the game. Amiya Porter hit a pair of threes on the way to 13 points on the night. She also was second on the team in assists with five as she ran the point along with Beckham. Nicky Daniel added seven points and five rebounds for the Lions while Moodie chipped in five points, four assists and three steals for Hebron who advances to the second round of the state tournament. The Lions are now 28-0 and will face Carver, Atlanta (17-10), the No. 2 seed from 5-AAA, in the second round. The game will be at Hebron, date and time TBA.

Top seeded Hebron faced off with second seeded Hart County in the finals of the Region 8-AAA Tournament hosted by Oconee County and came away with a resounding 78-32 win to take the region championship. The Lions, ranked No. 1 in AAA, raced to an early 10-0 lead before Hart County, ranked No. 9 in AAA, got on the board. However, the teams played evenly for the rest of the first quarter as Hebron took a 17-7 lead at the end of the period. The second quarter wasn’t too different from the first as the Hebron outscored the Bulldogs 16-7 in the period taking a 33-14 lead into halftime. Then the second half began… and the team hit another gear. The Lions went on a 24-2 tear leading 57-16 with 1:05 left in the third quarter after a pair of Aubrey Beckham free throws. Hebron led by 40 heading into the shortened, six-minute fourth quarter and the game was basically a wrap. Beckham led the way. She dropped 30 points, dished 10 assists, and had six steals, all team highs, in what was an outstanding showing. Not to be outdone, Kerra Butler had yet another double-double scoring 10 points while pulling down 13 boards and blocking four shots. Amiya Porter connected from long range canning five three pointers on the way to 19 points and four steals. Nicky Daniel and Aniya Moodie put up six points each while Moodie also had a couple of steals. Kayla Lane added five rebounds and two points while Camryn Register chipped in five rebounds and three steals. With the win, Hebron won its third region championship during the four-year Jan Azar era. The Lions are now 27-0 overall and 12-0 versus region opponents. Hart drops to 19-8 on the season, with three of their losses at the hands of Hebron. Now onto the state tournament. The Lions secured the No. 1 seed out of 8-AAA with the win and will host the loser of the Region 7-AAA consolation game between White County and Dawson County which will be played tomorrow night at Dawson County. That first round game will be held at Hebron. Date, time and opponent to be determined.

It wasn’t pretty, but top seeded Hebron took care of business defeating No. 5 seed Franklin County 73-20 in the semifinals of the Region 8-AAA Tournament Wednesday night at Oconee County. In the third battle of Lions this season, the Hebron Lions were a little sloppy and out of sorts. The outcome was never in doubt and Hebron advances to its fourth straight region championship game as a result. Kerra Butler led the Hebron scoring effort with 20 points to go wither seven rebounds. Aubrey Beckham had 17 points, eight assists and eight steals while Aniya Moodie scored 10 points to go with three steals. Amiya Porter added nine points and four rebounds as Nicky Daniel put up seven points and grabbed seven boards. Alanna Beckham chipped in four points and six rebounds for Hebron who remains perfect on the season at 26-0. Hebron will take on second seeded Hart County, ranked No. 9 in AAA in the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, in the region championship game. Hart County defeated Oconee County 44-38 in its semifinal game earlier today. The region championship will take place on Friday at Oconee County. Tipoff is 6:00 PM.

ALL GAMES AT OCONEE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

Monday, February 13
4:00 PM – Franklin County 46, Monroe Area 37
7:00 PM – Oconee County 51, Stephens County 29

Wednesday, February 15
4:00 PM – Hart County 44, Oconee County 38
7:00 PM – Hebron 73, Franklin County 20

Friday, February 17
3:00 PM – Consolation: Oconee County 58, Franklin County 42
6:00 PM – Region Championship: Hebron 78, Hart County 32

The Hebron girls concluded the regular season tonight with a resounding 96-20 win over Stephens County. All players saw playing time in this one. The Lions built a 67-6 lead at halftime largely behind the nine three pointers made during the half. The team hit 14 threes for the game, all in the first three quarters. Sophomore sensation Aubrey Beckham led the way for Hebron narrowly missing a triple double. She led the team in scoring with 29 points, assists with 12 and steals with nine. Amiya Porter had yet another strong outing scoring 22 points to go with four assists. Kayla Lane had her best game since coming back from the ankle injury that kept her sidelined for a few games two weeks ago. She scored 15 points and had three steals. Kerra Butler put up nine points and grabbed eight rebounds while Nicky Daniel had eight points and five rebounds. Camryn Register added six points and six steals for the Lions while Aniya Moodie had five steals. Hebron finishes the regular season a perfect 25-0 overall, 10-0 in region play. Up next, the Region 8-AAA tournament hosted by Oconee County. Hebron secured the No. 1 seed and thus, a first round bye. The Lions will play on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM against the winner of No. 4 Monroe Area vs. No. 5 Franklin County which will take place on Monday.