Bears corral Mustangs, declaw Wildcats
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

Mack Golden storms past a South Effingham player Friday night.

The Bears didn't take much off their region basketball foes to the south this weekend.

The Burke County High School boys (14-6, 5-4) mauled the Mustangs from South Effingham High School 73-44 Friday and bagged another sub-region victory over Richmond Hill High School 60-50 Saturday night.

Against South Effingham, Burke County senior DeVonda Lewis turned in his best game of the year, a nice touch on the school's senior night. He led the Bears with 24 points and sank five shots from the 3-point arch. He was 3-3 from the free-throw line as well.

Junior Bobby Burum tallied 12 points for the night, hitting two 3-pointers along the way. He was followed by junior Rodney Moye, who scored 9.

Head coach Purvis Dukes was pleased to see both his seasoned players and a few new faces come into the game and perform.

Sophomore Cedric Maple, who usually fills a spot on the junior varsity roster, saw some playing time Friday and helped out with 5 steals and 3 assists.

"Cedric came in and handled the pressure pretty well," Dukes said. "Hopefully, he will continue to play well going into the (region) tournament."

On Saturday, the Bears enjoyed a major comeback by senior Maurice Doyle. Typically a leading scorer for Burke County, Doyle was sidelined for several games with an ankle injury and has been easing back into the game.

He led the Bears in scoring with 12. Burum and Moye were right behind him with 11 points each.

Senior Marquell Tarber added another 8 and Lewis scored 7 points.

"Maurice was at about ninety-five percent Saturday for the first time since Christmas and it gave us a boost," Dukes said. "He started the game catching a lob from Bobby and that kind of set the pace for the night."

Maple made another appearance on varsity Saturday and had an encore performance with 5 steals.

"We need guys to step up this time of year if we plan to make a run at it," Dukes said. "As a staff, we're pleased with their effort and attitude and we plan to try to stay consistent as the tourney approaches."

Earlier in the week, Burke County fell to Hephzibah High School 56-43.

On Friday, the Bears will head south to Benedictine Military School in Savannah for their last region match up before the tournament. They will travel to Evans High School Tuesday for the last game on their regular schedule.

UP NEXT

Burke County vs.

Benedictine & St. Vincent's

Friday, Feb. 1, in Savannah

*Both games will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the girls playing at St. Vincent's and the boys playing at Benedictine.