The Thomas County Middle School seventh grade Yellow Jackets downed the Bainbridge Middle School seventh-grade Bearcats, 29-24, Thursday at the Decatur County Memorial Coliseum.

The Bearcats were led by James Dismukes and Kendall Lodman, with seven points apiece.

Rounding out the Bearcats’ scoring chart were Malique Pate with four, and Markel Broadnax and Dontavious Kinder with three each.

The Yellow Jackets led 9-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Bearcats bounced back to outscore them 8-3 in the second quarter to pull even 12-12 at halftime.

A 7-6 Bearcats third-quarter scoring advantage gave them a 19-18 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Bearcats coach Patrick Clark said he liked his team’s effort.

“We had our chances to win but just fell a little short,” he said. “I thought we played hard the entire game.”