CAIRO — Cairo’s girls basketball team came close to getting an upset region win Friday night, but could not take the game over down the stretch.

The Syrupmaids played visiting Carver-Columbus close throughout the first half, but the Tigers, who rank second in Region 1-4A, ultimately prevailed, handing Cairo a 80-57 loss. The boys did not fare better, taking a 79-39 loss.

Both teams matched each other well throughout the first half, beginning from the opening tip. No team scored in the game’s first 2 minutes before the Tigers took an early 4-0 lead. the Syrupmaids tied it up at 4 with 2:44 left in the first quarter. After Carver took an 8-4 advantage, Cairo’s Kevona Jones capped a short 4-0 run to tie the game up once again at 8, but the Tigers held a slim 11-9 lead at the end of the first.

Cairo took its only lead of the game with the first score of the second period when Ny’Jah Greene scored on a layup to put the Syupmaids up 12-11, but Carver quickly scored to regain the advantage once again, and never gave it up again. Greene played a big part of Cairo’s second quarter performance, scoring 8 in the period.

The Syrupmaids came close to overtaking the Tigers once again with 3 minutes left in the first half with a 3 from Felicity Felder, narrowing their deficit to 24-22, but Carver once again pulled away with a 34-29 lead at halftime.

Carver put the game away for good in the second half. Cairo was continuing to hold strong early in the third, only down 40-35 with 5:40 left in the quarter, but the Tigers went on a 11-4 run to take a 51-39 lead with 3 minutes left. That turned into a 58-44 lead headed into the fourth quarter, as Carver secured the win to keep pace with top-ranked Columbus in the region. Cairo moves to 7-12 overall and 3-7 in the region.

Cairo’s De’Mytra Robinson was honored at the end of the game during senior day recognitions, as she joined the school’s 1,000-point club, notching a total of 1,113 points to date.

The boys very briefly held a lead at the beginning of the first quarter, after a 3 from Travis Hunter. That did not last very long, as the three points was part of only seven scored by the Syrupmakers in the opening quarter, while the Tigers recorded 18 in the same time frame.

Carver went on a 7-1 run to extend its lead to 25-9 by the middle of the second, eventually working to a 34-17 lead over Cairo at the halfway point. The Tigers cruised to the win from there, sealing the victory with a 16-1 run to end the game.

Hunter led the Syrupmakers with 14 points, with 12 of them coming from behind the arc.