ATLANTA — Make it two straight wins for the Griffin Christian Crusaders basketball team.

The Crusaders raced to a big lead and held on down the stretch to defeat the Holy Spirit Prep Cougars 64-50 Friday night in non-region action on the road. GCHS now improves to 3-2 overall with their second consecutive win.

Holy Spirit played the Crusaders tough, taking a 15-11 lead after the first quarter and a 29-27 lead at the half. Griffin Christian took control of the game in the second half, playing great defense and hitting shots to lead 50-36 heading into the fourth quarter and winning the game from there.

“We started a bit slow, but we played well in the second half. We even had a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Holy Spirit got hot towards the end,” said Crusaders head coach Mic Savage. “One of their players scored seven points in less than a minute late in the game.”

Austin Gill led the Crusaders with another double-double Friday (17 points, 20 rebounds), followed by Wil Savage with 16 points and Elias Seise with 14. Matthew Hammond only had three points for GCHS, but he contributed 10 assists, five steals and four deflections to help the Crusaders get the win. Hammond even took a wicked shot to the face that caused him to bleed and have to sit out much of the second half before returning.

The Crusaders’ next game is Monday at Westfield (located in Perry, Ga.) at 7:30 p.m.

In girls action, the Lady Crusaders were whipped 60-10 by the Lady Cougars of Holy Spirit Friday evening, falling to 1-4 overall.

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Faith Christian 43, Ballard Christian boys 41 (Friday):

AUBURN, Ala. — The Faith Christian Academy Lions basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 43-41 win over ICSGA foe Ballard Christian Friday night on the road.

The Lions hung tough with Ballard all game long and tied the game at 38-all with 20 seconds left and that’s how regulation ended. FCA outscored them 5-3 in the overtime period to win the game.

FCA’s next game is their home opener Dec. 8 against league foe Heritage at 6 p.m.

In girls action, the Lady Lions trounced Ballard 39-14 for their first varsity win in three years.