Thomas County Central's Emily Greek looks for an open shot with two Bainbridge defenders guarding her on Saturday.

THOMASVILLE — Thomas County Central’s boys basketball team is in the midst of a rebuild. It hasn’t been easy for the 2017-18 Yellow Jackets so far, but a huge win on Saturday may give the team a much-needed lift going forward.

Hosting Bainbridge for their region opener, the Yellow Jackets began their night well by working to a 11-point halftime lead, and after losing that cushion late in the fourth quarter, they hung on to take a 55-45 victory. 

It was the first region win for Central’s boys since the 2015-16 squad beat Cairo in January 2016, back when the Yellow Jackets were in Class 4A. The win puts the team at 2-7 overall, tying last year’s win total. 

“I’m trying to tell them as much as I tell myself to trust the process,” Central boys coach Levi Williams said. “This is a good one for them because it lets them know when they come out and execute and make plays, they can play on the floor with anybody.”

The Yellow Jackets held a 38-32 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, with the Bearcats drawing closer in the third. Much like the Cairo game earlier this season, Central was trying to cling to a win late.

That goal seemed to be fading with 4:20 left in the game, when Bainbridge tied the game at 42-42. Central’s Deondre Sullivan made a layup to keep his team in the lead, but the Bearcats tied the game again at with 2:12 to play. Tay Cooksey answered with a layup and a made free throw, and with 1:16 left, Bentley Green came through with a crucial 3 to give the Yellow Jackets a 49-45 advantage. Green later sealed the game by making two free throws after a missed Bainbridge shot.

“We’ve still got a lot of growing to do,” Williams said. “We gave up a big lead. But games like this, it’s good to understand how to win these kinds of games down the stretch of a season. It’s important for them to understand how to push through — how to stay poised and stay calm, and still make basketball plays down the stretch.”

Central’s first quarter went just about as well as it wanted. Threes from Cooksey and Green put the Jackets up 8-4, and after Bainbridge went ahead 10-8, Cooksey made two more shots from behind the arc to lead Central to a 17-10 lead early in the second quarter. Central went on a 13-5 run from that point to take a 30-19 lead into the half before Bainbridge fought back in the third. 

Cooksey paced the Yellow Jackets with a team-leading 18 points. Green and Sullivan had 10 and 11 points, respectively. Central showed a lot of improvement at the free throw line, with the Yellow Jackets making 81 percent of those shots. 

GIRLS

Central’s girls kept hopes of an upset against the No. 7 Bearcats intact for a short time, the visitors pulled away in the second quarter and took the 59-30 win.

Jennifer Coleman and Shanovia Williams got Central started off right, making a couple of shots to put the Yellow Jackets up 4-2 early. After two Bearcat scores, Oscyon Knolton tied the game a 6-6 with 4:22 left in the first quarter, and Ilyria Johns tied things up again at 8-8 right before the start of the second quarter. 

Central’s hopes for a win stayed alive for a few minutes into the second, with Johns keeping the Yellow Jackets toe-to-toe with the Bearcats with two more made buckets. Central did a good job neutralizing Bainbridge’s best shooters during the opening period.

However, with the game tied at 12-12 with 4:45 left to halftime, the Bearcats began a very long scoring streak consisting of 19 unanswered points, ending the first half with a commanding 31-12 advantage.

“We got away from (Tytianna Roseborough),” Central girls coach Thomas McAboy said. “Everything for Bainbridge goes through her. We lost sight of her and she hit three 3s in a row.”

The scoreless stretch for Central continued into the second half, with Bainbridge eventually taking a 41-12 lead, which amounted to a 29-0 run for the Bearcats. Coleman broke the streak with 5:31 left in the third quarter, but the run ultimately doomed Central to its eighth loss of the year, and the left the search for its elusive first win ongoing.

“We’re getting better,” McAboy said. “We’ve just got to keep showing up, keep getting some chemistry and find somebody that can put the ball in the basket.”

Johns led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points on the night. Williams and Coleman had four points each.