COLUMBIA — Columbia Academy coach Reid McKay knew that if hisCougars had a chance to beat Brookhaven Academy, Friday night’smeeting of two top five MPSA Class AA teams would be it. Fresh frombeating Jackson Prep, Brookhaven traveled to Columbia in a keyDistrict 4-AA matchup to face the upset minded Columbia team.

“I knew this was our best shot,” said McKay. “They were comingoff a tough win last night and we had them in our gym, so youcouldn’t ask for a better opportunity.”

Columbia battled the BA Cougars the entire game but eventuallycame up short in their upset bid as Brookhaven topped Columbia48-42 to improve to 21-1 overall and 9-0 in district play. Columbiafell to 16-5 and 6-2 in district play, with its only two conferencedefeats coming at the hands of Brookhaven.

Senior center Seth Davis led Brookhaven with a double-double,scoring 10 points and pulling down 13 rebounds as the Cougars hadto battle back the entire night in the hostile environment. T-BoyLynch scored 13 points and Kurt Perkins added 11 to help Brookhavenkeep its perfect conference record.

Columbia led 27-24 at the halftime intermission and looked tohave plenty of momentum heading into the final quarter, butBrookhaven gained a 2-point lead at 38-36 with under 10 secondsremaining in the third quarter. Corey Dickerson pushed the BACougars lead to 5 as he nailed a last second trey from 22 feet,giving Brookhaven a 41-36 lead going into the final frame.

“Dickerson hurt us with that shot,” added McKay. “We had severalchances in the third quarter to expand our lead and we just wentcold from the floor. Brookhaven’s defense had a lot to do withthat. That three took the momentum away from us.”

“Our game plan was to pressure them inside and out,” continuedMcKay. “They hit 9 threes in the game. You can’t stop everything.There’s a reason they’re the number one team.”

Columbia had one last rally come up short as the hosts pulledwithin 3 with under a minute remaining in the game. But JeremyWinborne hit two big free throws to help seal the victory.

“Winborne is such a good player,” said Mckay. “He didn’t shootthe ball well at all tonight and he still found a way to make adifference in the game. Coaches would give anything to have him ontheir team, even on a bad night.”

Travis Pace led Columbia with 16 points. Dustin Hofer followedwith 8 points.

Columbia 34, Brookhaven 33

Brookhaven’s Lady Cougars did everything they could but came upon the short end of the scoreboard as Columbia prevailed, in a gamethat wasn’t decided until the final minute. Brookhaven fell to 18-9overall and 6-3 in district play.

Columbia led 33-26 with 1:42 remaining, but back to back 3-pointshots by Maddie Allen pulled Brookhaven within one at 33-32 with aminute remaining. Brookhaven had several chances late but wasunable to convert on the opportunities. Both teams added a singlefree throw in the last 30 seconds.

“We had our chances late,” said BA coach Barry Gray. “We missedsome shots we should have made, but our effort was good.”

Maddie Allen, Kelli Snider and Kellie Brady each scored 7 pointsto lead Brookhaven. Brady had 5 steals. Betsy Lynch led the Cougarson the glass with 6 rebounds.

Lindsey Beard led Columbia with 11 points. Sarah Slater followedwith 9 points.

BOYS

Brookhaven 48 Columbia 42

Brookhaven (48) – T-Boy Lynch 13, Perkins 11, Davis 10,Dickerson 7, Winborne 4, Gray 3.

Columbia (42) – Travis Pace 16, Hofer 8, Lott 7, Sartin5, Thomas 3, Dogg 2.

Free Throws M-A: Brookhaven 3-5. Columbia8-12.

Total Fouls: Brookhaven 12. Columbia 14. Fouledout:none.

3-Point Goals: Brookhaven 9 (Lynch 3, Perkins 3,Dickerson 2, Gray).

Brookhaven Academy

12

12

17

7

—

48

Columbia Academy

13

14

9

6

—

42

GIRLS

Columbia 34 Brookhaven 33

Columbia (34) – Lindsey Beard 11, Slater 9, Magee 5,Pittman 4, Joyner 3, Stringer 2.

Brookhaven (33) – Kelli Snider 7, Maddie Allen 7, KellieBrady 7, Tigner 6, Lynch 4, Smith 2.

Free Throws M-A: Brookhaven 7-14. Columbia9-16.

Total Fouls: Brookhaven 17. Columbia 1.7 Fouled out:none. Technicals: Mckay

3-Point Goals: Columbia 3 (Beard 3). Brookhaven 2 (Allen2).

Brookhaven Academy

10

4

4

15

—

33

Columbia Academy

13

9

3

9

—

34