Basketball Teams Open 2025 With Wins

Jeff Davis High’s basketball teams got off to a good start with the 2025 portion of their schedules as both Coach KatyBeth Jordan’s and Coach Thomas McAboy’s teams defeated Berrien County Friday in Nashville and Toombs County Saturday in Hazlehurst. The wins boosted each team’s record to 6-5.
In Nashville, the girls won 53-39 and the boys won 73-52.
The Lady Jackets outscored Berrien in every quarter and led 38-26 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lady Rebels mounted a short rally in the final quarter but senior Autumn Rhodes scored 11 4th quarter points to hold off the rally and pull away to the 14-pt. win.
Rhodes finished the night with 18 points and was joined in double figures by Latrice Shivers who had 13, six coming on a pair of 3-pt. shots.
Bree Comey had nine, Claire Stinson, Alera Vann and Markyla Durden four each and Ayonna Sam one.
In the boys contest, the Yellow Jackets outscored the Rebels 50-31 in the middle two quarters behind the balanced scoring of J.J. Benjamin, J.T. Bryant, Malachi Smith and La’Trell Sellers. The Jackets’ swarming defense kept the Rebels off balance most of the evening.
Four Jackets hit in double digits led by Benjamin with 16. Sellers had 15, Smith 13 and Bryant 12. A.J. Sampson added 7, Braylon Tobler and Mark Durden 3 each, and Kolby Jarrell and Jaidon King 2 each.
Tae Lias topped Berrien with a game-high 17 points.
The large crowd in the Yellow Jacket gymnasium Saturday night was treated to a pair of close contests with the home teams taking close, come-from-behind wins. The JD girls won 42-33 and the boys took a nail-biting, 55-51 win.
The Jeff Davis girls trailed by six points entering the fourth quarter. When Toombs’ 6-ft. forward Arianna Hill fouled out early in the final stanza, the Lady Bulldogs were outmanned without their big inside player and Jeff Davis’ full-court, pressure defense rattled the visitors. The Lady Jackets tied the score with five minutes to play and outscored the Lady Bulldogs 19-4 in the fourth quarter to race to the 9-pt. win. JD was 11-for-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Shivers scored 10 points in the final quarter including going 6-for-6 at the free throw line. She finished with 16 points. Comey, who moved to point guard in place of a her sister Rhodes, who was hobbled all game by an injured leg, also hit in double digits with 14. Despite her injury, Rhodes played almost all of the game and finished with eight points, five in the final quarter. Durden hit a 3-pt shot and Jawnee Cornish scored a free throw.
Hill led Toombs with 14 points.
Toombs County brought a big, strong lineup to Hazlehurst for the boys contest and the visitors led for most of the game.
But the under-sized Yellow Jackets used their quickness and their full-court pressure to force the Bulldogs into a bushel of turnovers, especially late in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.
Toombs 6′-6″ center Parker Stanley, his backup 6′-5″ Maurice Oglesby, and 6′-4″ forward Cameron Oglesby, towered over most of the Yellow Jackets. But the Jackets’ quickness neutralized Toombs’ height advantage.
Stanley hit an inside bucket with just over 50 seconds left to play to put Toombs up 51-49 and, after that, it was all Jeff Davis as the Jackets out-scored the Bulldogs 6-0 down the stretch to take the win.