The South Forsyth Eagles won their seventh overall 7th Grade Boys' Basketball Championship on Saturday, defeating the Hendricks Hawks in a low scoring slugfest, 35-32. The Eagles finished the 2024-25 season as the only undefeated team in the county with a 13-0 record.
For much of the season, these two teams were on a collision course to the finals. Riverwatch and Vickery Creek were in the mix, as well, but South Forsyth and Hendricks were the #1 and #2 seeds for a reason. The Eagles defeated Hendricks in the regular season at home by a score of 46-37. So, getting to see the two teams on a neutral court is what the fans, players, and coaches wanted to see.
1st Quarter: South Forsyth jumped out to a 10-7 to start the game. Hendricks' Braylon Choice led all scorers in the first quarter with five points. South Forsyth had five players score in the quarter in a well rounded effort.
2nd Quarter: Neither team made a basket from outside the three point line in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the two squads combined for three of them and the scoring picked up. Hendricks held a slight advantage in the quarter, scoring 13 points compared to South Forsyth's 11. Mateo Giraldo hit two 3 pointers and had six points. Braylon Choice scored seven points and once again was the high scorer.
At halftime, the Piney Grove boys' basketball team was awarded with the Sportsmanship Award.
3rd Quarter: In the third quarter, the scoring came to a standstill as both teams tried to work through the nerves and chaos of a championship game. Each team scored just one basket in the quarter. The difference was that the Eagles made three free throws to the Hawks' one. Adam Oche led the way for South Forsyth, notching four points. Going into the last quarter, South Forsyth increased their one point lead up to three, 26-23.
4th Quarter: The fourth quarter did not bring much more scoring for either team. It was all about free throws as the game pushed toward its conclusion. Hendricks scored five points from the field and South Forsyth had only one two point basket. However, the Eagles scored seven points from the charity stripe while the Hawks had four. In the end, it was a wash (9-9) as South Forsyth closed out the 35-32 victory.
7th Grade Boys' Basketball Championship
February 1, 2025 @ East Forsyth High School
South Forsyth (35) vs Hendricks (32)