Both Tallulah Falls squads came into a Tuesday home game ranked in the state polls. The #10-ranked Lady Indians won their fourth straight game in a blowout 67-30 win over Towns, while the #5-ranked TFS boys won 55-40 over #2-ranked Towns.

GIRLS

Tallulah Falls wasted no time in jumping out a 20-0 lead, with Denika Lightbourne doing heavy damage. She had 23 for the game and 15 in the first half. That included 11 in the first quarter. Veronaye Charlton also had 4 in the first, and Molly Mitchell buzzer-beating jumper made it 18-0 going into the second.

In the second, the lead got up to 20-0 before a Towns free throw by Halie Arrowood. The first Towns bucket came near the 3 minute mark in the quarter by Morgan Pierson, but by then TFS was up huge. Kailyn Neal knocked down one of her 3 triples late in the quarter to go up 29-4, and it was a 29-7 halftime lead.

In the third, Macy Murdock had a pair of shots from downtown, pushing the lead up to an insurmountable 41-10. Tabitha Barnes got hot for Towns County, as she had a team-high 15 points, including a pair of trays in the fourth.

Lightbourne led all scorers with 23, while Neal finished with 11, as did Charlton. Barnes’ 15 led Towns County, and Kaleigh Beaver had 7. Tallulah Falls won its fourth game in a row, and the #10 Lady Indians are now 5-2 overall. The Towns County Lady Indians move to 1-4 overall.

BOYS

The top-5 billing lived up to the hype, as both Indians’ teams were putting their athletic talents on display. #5-ranked Tallulah Falls led nearly the entire game, and outscored Towns in the first, third, and fourth quarter. Both teams tied the second quarter.

The home Indians went out to a quick 8-2 run, which forced an early Towns County timeout. Charlie Cody’s 4 points in that span sparked the crowd. Collin Crowder had 4 in the first quarter, as #2-ranked Towns County trailed 12-5 going into the second. Crowder and Kyle Oakes got hot, and Towns pulled within 18-17, prompting a Tallulah timeout. TFS held a 24-17 lead going into the half, in large part to Anfernee Hanna’s 10 first-half points.

In the third, Devonte Allen threw down a dunk to give Tallulah a 10-point lead of 27-17, and his breakaway layup moments later made it 29-17. Crowder did his best to pull Towns back into it, as it got to within 10. But unsung hero Lincoln Hall came up clutch for Tallulah Falls, helping the Indians get up 39-23. It was 39-27 going into the final stanza, where TFS outscored Towns 16-13 the rest of the way.

Hanna and Allen padded the lead up to 16 multiple times, even though Crowder pulled it within 13 with a triple, as did Zane Floyd later with about a minute to go. However, Diego Crotta iced the game with 4 free throws and a layup in the closing minute. TFS held on for the 55-40 big-time win over the defending state champions.

Hanna led all with 17 points, while Crotta had 10, Allen 9, Hall 7, and 6 each for Cody and Milos Vico. For Towns, Crowder led with 16 points. Floyd and Tanner Cunningham finished with 7 apiece, while Oakes had 6 in the loss. Tallulah Falls is now 6-1 overall, while Towns is 3-2.