By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The LaGrange Grangers had the halftime lead, but the margin was hardly a comfortable one.

In a defensive-oriented first half, LaGrange did just enough to seize a 27-25 lead over Cedartown in Saturday’s Region 5-AAAA showdown

It was a different LaGrange team that took to the court for the second half.

The Grangers outscored the Bulldogs 21-7 in the third quarter to grab control, and they scored 25 points in the fourth quarter on the way to a 73-49 victory.

The Grangers (10-5 overall) won their seventh consecutive game while improving to 2-0 in Region 5-AAAA.

LaGrange opened its region schedule with a 57-50 road win over Central-Carroll on Friday.

LaGrange will look to keep the wins coming this week, although it doesn’t figure to be easy with three challenging games on tap.

“Next week’s a tough week,” LaGrange head coach Mark Veal said. “We travel to Cartersville, play Troup here, and then Sandy Creek. But we’re playing confident now.”

Vondez Taylor led Saturday’s second-half charge.

Taylor paced the Grangers with 19 points, with 16 of those points coming during the second half.

“The first half, I wasn’t trying to score,” Taylor said. “The second half, it was a neck-and-neck game. I needed to score. The coaches said they needed me, so I had to do something to help my team.”

Jakobe Jones, LaGrange’s outstanding freshman guard, added 14 points, including nine points in the third quarter.

DJ Burks helped the Grangers stay in it early with eight first-quarter points, and he finished with 13 points, and Jordan Ogletree scored 11 points.

It was tight early, with the Grangers leading 14-12 after the first quarter, and they were up by two at the half.

An inspired LaGrange team dominated the second half to win going away and continue its perfect start in region play.