Basketball Recap: Darius Barnes Key Part of Team Effort in Cougars Win

Hillcrest Christian proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 31) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 54-52 victory over the Hazlehurst Indians. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Cougars have posted since February 11th.

Darius Barnes

Points

11/18/25 @ Hazlehurst	17
11/14/25 @ Discovery Christian	17
11/11/25 vs St. Andrew's Episcopal	17

Hillcrest Christian's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Darius Barnes, who almost dropped a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. The matchup was Barnes' third in a row with at least 17 points. AJ Thompson was another key player, going 7-for-13 to rack up 19 points and three steals.

Hillcrest Christian was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hazlehurst only racked up eight.

Defeat or not, Hazlehurst got some senior leadership from Jakavion Johnson and Kavarrious Crawford. Johnson posted 21 points and five boards, while Crawford dropped a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. That was a full 40.4% of the Indians' points, marking the third time in a row Johnson has put up more than a third of the team's points.

Hillcrest Christian's win was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 61.8 points this season. As for Hazlehurst, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-2.

Hillcrest Christian has already played their next game, a 57-8 defeat against St. Joseph Catholic on the 20th. As for Hazlehurst, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 75-49 win against Enterprise on the 20th.