A 7-point Rabun County lead going into the final quarter quickly turned into a 29-point victory, as the Wildcats (9-13; 3-2 in Region 8-A DI) won 80-51 to take their third straight win. Commerce (7-14; 2-3) dropped its third consecutive game in the process.

Huey Blalock had a great night, and reeled off 7 points in the opening quarter. Tyler Sorrells for Commerce was seemingly matching him bucket for bucket early on, as Rabun held a slim 20-16 lead after one. In the second, Jack Hood had back-to-back buckets in the paint to pull ahead 26-20, though Sorrells drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to head into the half with a 36-32 ball game.

Hayes Free came up with several big shots for the Wildcats, and his 3-point play early in the third started to put some distance between Rabun and Commerce. The Tigers got into foul trouble, leading to several Rabun County free throws as it pulled ahead 53-46 going into the final period.

In the final quarter, a 16-2 run for Rabun County put the nail in the coffin, as the Cats pulled out the 29-point victory. Blalock led all scorers with 22 points, while Cooper Welch tallied 18, Hood 16, and Free 13. Reed Burrell had 4, Colton Henricks 3, and 2 each for Tristen Burrell and Landan Bedingfield. Commerce was paced by Sorrells’ 19 points. Essien Lockleer had 10, Evan Peters 8, Hudson Dudish 6, Maki Mitchell and Jaxon Jarvis with 3 apiece, and Jackson Brown with 2.