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Rebels Push Brunswick Late in Region 1 Tourney Loss
Effingham boys basketball
Effingham County senior Noah Reese drives to the basket and scores on a short jumper late in Tuesday’s Class 5A Region 1 tournament game against Brunswick. Reese finished with 19 points in the Rebels’ 61-50 loss. (Gilbert Miller / Effingham Herald)

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — Drawing Brunswick in the second round of the Class 5A Region 1 boys basketball tournament wasn’t exactly good news for Effingham County.

The Rebels lost to the Pirates by 32 and 38 points in two non-subregion games this season.

But Tuesday, ECHS, a second seed from the North subregion, gave visiting Brunswick a fight until the final minute before falling 61-50.

The Rebels, who played the season without two key starters, finished 10-16. They placed second in the four-team North subregion by winning two of three games against both Greenbrier and Lakeside.

“I think for the hand we were dealt, we had a good year,” coach Aaron said. “The name of the game is next man up. I was proud of how everyone stepped up because we were hit with major adversity before we played our first game.”

Short-handed but competitive

ECHS was without its 2024-25 scoring leader and all-subregion forward Elyjah Doty (knee injury) and point guard Anthony “Tre” Davis (suspension), but adopted a slow-down, grind-it-out approach. When executed sharply, the strategy proved frustrating for the Pirates.

The Rebels had their moments Tuesday night, slicing Brunswick’s 14-point, third-quarter lead of 43-29 to five with nine unanswered points. Noah Reese’s 3-pointer capped the run to make it 43-38 with 7:15 to play.

The Pirates (20-7) regrouped and pushed the lead back to eight, 54-46, with 2:06 remaining. Brunswick was then whistled for goaltending on Reese’s layup attempt, and Reese and Jordan Drayton added free throws during a brief four-point spurt.

With 61 seconds left, ECHS trailed 54-50, but Brunswick closed the game with seven straight points — a layup and four free throws by AJ Levros and a final free throw by Alfonso Hart — to pull away.

Levros, a junior forward, led all scorers with 22 points.

Reese, a senior guard, finished his career with 19 points, 10 coming in the fourth quarter. Drayton, Isaiah Brown and Jordan Williams added six points apiece.

“We had the momentum, and I felt like we could do it,” Aaron said. “I’m not mad at our effort. A few more plays here and there could have gotten us over the hump.”