The Georgiana Panthers moved to the top of the area with a big win over J.F. Shields on Friday night.

There was a bit of hype surrounding the game — Georgiana came in as the No. 5 team in the state in 1A and Shields was No. 4.

For the most part, the game lived up to the billing as the two teams were evenly matched through three quarters.

Then Georgiana blew it open in the fourth to claim a 62-45 win.

“We led most of the game, but it was back and forth,” said head coach Kirk Norris. “We switched to a half-court trap in the fourth quarter and went on a 15-0 run. We got a lot of layups off that, and that’s what helped us.”

Norris said a win like that is good for the program and the school.

“That’s one of the biggest games I’ve been a part of,” he said. “With two top five teams, it’s the biggest game we’ve played all year. It’s also important because we’re now number one in the area. That’s the first time we’ve beaten Shields in a long time.”

Scoring for the game was fairly evenly spread out, with Jamie Williams scoring 13, LaCory Savage and Kevin Thomas contributing 11 each, and Damien McIntosh adding 10.