Amari Colbert leads Houston County past Bleckley County in Bear Brawl

WARNER ROBINS -- The Houston County Bears received a stern test from Bleckley County in the first round of the Bear Brawl on Friday night but outscored the Royals 12-4 in the final three minutes for a 67-58 win.

Junior Amari Colbert was unstoppable, scoring 27 points to lead the way. Torenio Davis led the way for Bleckley Countywith 13.

Houston County came out hot, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers, but the Bears managed only a 21-17 lead heading into the second quarter. Grant Sanders and Dayton Hall both had six points for Houston County in the first quarter.

Houston County pushed the lead to 28-19 midway through the second quarter on the strength of Colbert, who scored seven straight points, but Bleckley County fought back to cut the lead to 33-29 at the half.

Houston County couldn't shake the Royals in the third quarter, and Bleckley County tied the game at 47 on a 3-pointer by Nykeem Farrow early in the fourth quarter.

But Colbert and Kolbey Singleton took over down the stretch, scoring 16 of the final 20 points to put the game away.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Colbert: The standout wide receiver on the football team put on a show for the fans with a variety of moves that allowed him to get into the paint and score all night long. He scored 16 of his game-high 27 points in the second half.

Singleton: The junior guard only had three points in the first half, but he scored eight key points in the final nine minutes to help the Bears finally get a little cushion.

Eli Watson and Grant Sanders: Watson only played six minutes in the game, but he contributed four rebounds and played solid defense while on the court. Sanders hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and set screens all game long to help get teammates free.

TURNING POINT

The Bears hit 16-of-24 free throws, going 8-for-8 in the pivotal fourth quarter.

WORTH MENTIONING

Houston County head coach Stephen Walls substituted liberally, using 13 players, and got solid contributions from his bench players all night.

THEY SAID IT

Walls on the rotation: "I wanted to send a message to some guys who maybe were not practicing like they need to be practicing. I tried to reward the guys that give me great efforts every day, and I plan on continuing that for the rest of the tournament."

Walls on Colbert: "He had a breakout game in the Bear Brawl (last year), and I challenged him to do the same in this game. He is such an explosive player that we need him to play like he did in this game. He has got to be one of the best athletes in Middle Georgia."

Colbert getting into the flow of the game after not starting: "I felt great from the very beginning, and my teammates were giving me great opportunities to get into the paint and score. I feel like I am just now starting to get into basketball shape and playing again on Saturday will be tough, but we will be ready to play."

UP NEXT

Houston County meets Choctawhatchee at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Amari Colbert leads Houston County past Bleckley County in Bear Brawl ."