Basketball Recap: Hillgrove Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Asa Montgomery and Bryson Jatta

It was a Battle of the Birds when Hillgrove challenged South Cobb on Tuesday. The Hillgrove Hawks took a 67-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of the South Cobb Eagles. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Hawks came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 29th, while the Eagles are ranked 92nd).

Despite the loss, Hillgrove had strong showings from Bryson Jatta, who went 9 of 15 on his way to 25 points and five rebounds, and Asa Montgomery, who almost dropped a double-double on 19 points and nine rebounds. Jatta is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played.

Leading South Cobb to victory were Khalil Sylla and Donald McMillan. Sylla went 6 of 9 on his way to 15 points, while McMillan posted 14 points and six rebounds. Those 15 points gave Sylla a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Nathaniel Mitchell, who put up nine points and five rebounds.

Hillgrove's defeat dropped their record down to 13-3. As for South Cobb, they pushed their record up to 9-6 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season.

Hillgrove will welcome Harrison at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hillgrove is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 64.7 points per game this season. As for South Cobb, they will venture away from home to face off against Paulding County at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. South Cobb also hasn't been messing around on offense: they've averaged 53.7 points per game.