In a heavyweight battle that felt like a State Elite 8 or Final 4 matchup, #5-ranked Commerce (12-3; 3-0 in 8-A DI) came back in the second half to down #1 Rabun County (12-2; 2-1) in a 65-56 final at Commerce on Saturday night. It set an early message within the region and the state, as both teams have been top-5 ranked all season.

The halves couldn’t have been more contrasting. The Wildcats raced out to a 10-0 lead that had the early feeling of a blowout. Trace Adcock buried a shot from downtown that came from a different zip code, and Huey Blalock and Hayes Free were just toying with the Tigers.

However, Bryson Parks scored five points in a short span for Commerce and Essien Lockleer drained a triple to beat the buzzer, which tied the game at 15-all going into the second.

Commerce went up by a couple, which marked one of six lead changes in the ball game. Blalock had a monster second quarter, at one point accounting for nine straight Wildcat points. He had 22 points in the first half alone. Parks continued to impress for the Tigers, though the Wildcats held a slim 35-31 halftime lead.

The Tigers couldn’t miss in the third, as they outscored Rabun County 22-10. Lockleer again had a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, pushing the Commerce lead up to 53-45 going into the final period.

Parks had multiple big shots, as did Lockleer, Maki Mitchell, and Ty Sorrells, as Commerce was up by 15 early in the final quarter.

For Commerce, Lockleer finished with 20 points and Parks 19, while Sorrells had nine, Jeremiah Jarrells eight, and Mitchell seven. Rabun County was led by Blalock’s game-high 28 points, as Free followed with 16 and Adcock six. Reed Burrell added four and Cord Burrell three.

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