Columbia whips Evans to set up showdown with Grovetown

          Click here to see my game report of the first Columbia-Grovetown game.

Julius Brown exploded for 12 third quarter points Tuesday.

Julius Brown's 12 point third quarter turned a comfortable Columbia Middle lead over Evans into a 53-25 blitz that positions the Raiders alone in second place in the Columbia County middle school standings ahead of Thursday's much anticipated rematch with undefeated Grovetown. Brown led all scorers with 14. Christian Chambers chipped in 12 as Columbia poured in the points with an unselfish attack that put eight Raiders into the scoring column.

Thursday's showdown at Columbia marks the first game of the second half of the season. Columbia (5-1) and Grovetown (7-0) have distinguished themselves at the top of the standings. Grovetown beat Harlem 62-21 Tuesday. Evans (5-2) and Greenbrier (4-2) are within striking distance. Greenbrier topped Riverside behind Drew Hollenback's game high 12 points.

Of the teams in the bottom half of the standings, Stallings Island may be due for a win against a top four team after scaring Evans (the Knights eventually prevailed 33-32) Friday and beating Lakeside 42-35 Tuesday. Lakeside's Darius Rayne led all scorers with 20 in the loss, while SIMS was paced by Andrew May (13) and Jayden Taylor (11).

Thanks to the Georgia Fusion AAU organization for the news from around the county.