Basketball Recap: Thomasville Falls Despite Big Games from Xavier Burkes Jr. and Antoine Garland Jr.

Thomasville and East Laurens squared off in some playoff action on Wednesday, but Thomasville had to settle for second. They took a 71-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of the East Laurens Falcons. The match was a 33-33 toss-up at halftime, but the Bulldogs couldn't quite close it out.

Antoine Garland Jr.

Points

02/19/25 @ East Laurens	22
01/10/25 vs Brantley County	22
02/11/25 vs Berrien	21
12/27/24 vs Jenkins	20
11/16/24 @ Bainbridge	18
+ 19 more games

Despite the loss, Thomasville had strong showings from Antoine Garland Jr., who posted 22 points and three steals, and Xavier Burkes Jr., who went 6-for-13 on his way to 18 points and eight boards. Garland Jr. is becoming a predictor of Thomasville's success: when he posts at least 15 points the team is 7-2 (and 9-10 when he doesn't). Monte Colvin was another key player, putting up 11 points.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead East Laurens to victory, but perhaps none more so than Rashund Washington Jr., who dropped a double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds. With that strong performance, Washington Jr. is now averaging an impressive 8.1 boards per game. Another player making a difference was Tylan Snead, who almost dropped a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Thomasville's defeat dropped their record down to 16-12. As for East Laurens, their win was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-6.

Thomasville does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for East Laurens, they will face off against Model at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. East Laurens is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.9 points per game this season.