NEWBERRY — The Newberry Academy middle school basketball teams both had successful regular seasons, with the girls team finishing 10–3 and the boys finishing 11–5.
Both teams also finished in second place in Region 2 of SCISA 1A.
On Monday, both teams traveled to Greenwood to play in the opening round of the middle school region tournament.
The girls team won a defensive battle, defeating Cambridge 15-12, while the boys avenged an earlier loss to Laurens, winning 40-28. In the girls’ game, both teams struggled to score.
Newberry jumped out to an early lead and never let go, despite only leading by two at the half.
The Lady Eagles used aggressive defense and solid rebounding to limit Cambridge’s offensive opportunities.
Timely baskets and rebounds allowed Newberry to hang on for the win.
The Lady Eagles were led by Alysia Skipper and Amber Suber with 4 points each, while Darby Dail added three points.
Natashia Ruff rounded out the scoring with two points.
The middle school boys’ team started slowly and weathered a late comeback to put away a Laurens team that beat them Friday.
The Eagles struggled on offense in the first period, as few shots found the mark, but the second period was all Newberry.
The Eagles outscored Laurens 17–2 in the second period, powered by a stifling defense that led to turnovers and easy baskets.
Newberry increased the lead to 17 after the third period, but Laurens made a run, cutting the lead to six.
The Laurens comeback ran out of gas and time, as the Eagles closed out the game as they started it.
The Eagles were led by Landen York, who led all scorers with 24 points. Camron Hawkins added seven points, while Patrick Mills added six points.
Michael Shaw rounded out the scoring with three points.
Coach Barry Kesler leads both teams back into action on Saturday at Newberry College.
Both teams will be playing for region championships.
The girls tip off at 1 p.m. and the boys start at 2:15 p.m.
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