John Paul II’s boys went looking for a challenge when their region game against Beaufort Academy was postponed Friday night, and they ended up finding their first loss of the season.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

The Golden Warriors went cold in the second half and came up short in overtime, falling 57-54 to visiting Cathedral Academy to snap their six-game winning streak to start the season.

JPII was in control early, but the Golden Warriors managed only 12 points in the second half to allow the Generals to close the gap and force overtime. Cathedral outscored JPII 10-7 in the extra four minutes.

Freshman Christian Tilton led JPII with 15 points and six rebounds, and Mark Knight added 14 points and eight boards.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

The Golden Warriors (6-1, 1-0) travel to Bethesda Academy for a region game on Tuesday.
<h4>Late rally comes up short for JPII girls</h4>
[caption id="attachment_47760" align="aligncenter" width="1020"]<a href="https://staging.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/01082021-John-Paul-2-girls-hoops-0790_edited-1.jpeg"><img class="size-large wp-image-47760" src="https://staging.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/01082021-John-Paul-2-girls-hoops-0790_edited-1-1024x882.jpeg" alt="" width="1020" height="879"></a> Bob Sofaly photo<br>John Paul II’s Taylor Michael, right, has her hands full while trying to steal the ball from Cathedral Academy’s JuJu DeSouza during first quarter of thier basket ball game Friday night. The visiting Lady Generals went on to win the contest 52-39.[/caption]

After a long layoff to get back to basics, John Paul II’s girls put together one of their strongest efforts of the season but fell short in a 52-39 home loss to Cathedral Academy on Friday.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

The Generals controlled things early and led 29-10 at halftime, leaving the Golden Warriors scrambling to figure out a way to come back.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

Starting in the third quarter, JPII started to kick it up a notch, outscoring the Generals 20-9 to pull within eight going to the fourth quarter. The Warriors clawed with six before Cathedral pulled away down the stretch.

After returning from a concussion suffered in the first game of the season, senior captain Taylor Michael led the Golden Warriors with a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Brady Mahoney added eight points and nine boards, and Cayce Graves had five points, seven rebounds, and five steals.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

On Saturday, the Golden Warriors fell 69-29 to visiting Hilton Head Christian Academy, which improved to 9-0 with the win.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

HHCA raced to a 29-5 halftime lead and rolled to the big win as Devon Yarde dropped a career-best 23 points, Dior Shelton added 20, Mary Yanker scored 14, and Abby Peduzzi contributed 10.

The Golden Warriors picked it up on offense in the second half, but HHCA’s defense was tough to beat.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

Michael led JPII for the second night in a row, racking up 16 points and five rebounds.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

For daily sports coverage from throughout the Lowcountry, visit LowcoSports.com.

<em>Top Photo:&nbsp;John Paul II’s Jeremiah Young, left, passes the ball while Cathedral Academy’s Shane Thompkins tries to block him during the second quarter Friday night. The Golden Warriors came up short in overtime, falling 57-54 to the visiting Generals. Photo by Bob Sofaly.</em>