By By Chandler Myers
The Blue Devils of Escambia County suffered their worst defeat of the season, losing 58-39 to rival Baldwin County on Saturday.
The Blue Devils (4-6, 0-0) never had control of the game and fell behind early ending the first quarter with the Tigers up 12-5.
The second quarter did not get any better for the Blue Devils as they only scored 12 points and allowed 17 from Baldwin County, which took a 29-17 halftime lead.
ECHS head coach Anthony Hayes said the game was the toughest contest this season for the Blue Devils.
Senior guard James Webster was a catalyst for ECHS and paced the offense with eight points in the loss. Blue Devils senior guard and Serbian exchange student Nik Radojicic had a season-high seven points against the Tigers.
In the third quarter, the Blue Devils looked as if they found some life, and put together a 13-10 run to cut the Tiger’s lead by three points. Heading into the final quarter, Baldwin County led the Blue Devils 39-30.
Hayes said if ECHS had played the first half with the effort they put out in third quarter the game might have been different.
The third quarter would be the only bright spot for ECHS as Baldwin County would take over the fourth quarter, and extend their lead over the Blue Devils.
In the final quarter, the Tigers scored 19 points and only gave up nine to ECHS, which put the final at 58-39.
Junior forward Lawrence Arnold scored six points for the Blue Devils, while senior forward Johnathan Gholsby added five points. Junior forward Kingston Craft scored five points, and senior forward Nate Davis scored four points in the loss.
Hayes said the Blue Devils are working to be the best they can be for this weekend’s county tournament.
The Blue Devils face off against W.S. Neal on Friday night at 7:30 p.m in the county tournament.
Hillcrest 49
Blue Devils 43
A back-and-forth battle took place at Escambia County last Thursday night between the Hillcrest-Evergreen Jaguars and the Blue Devils of ECHS, with the Jaguars squeaking out a 49-43 win.
The Blue Devils (4-5, 0-0) fought hard with the Jaguars and started strong with a 12-7 lead early in the first quarter before allowing the Jags to go on a 10-0 run to end the quarter.
ECHS head coach Anthony Hayes said his team started the game quick, but lost their momentum after missing some shots.
In the second quarter, the Blue Devils took control and outplayed the Jaguars up and down the court, which helped ECHS take a 29-2 4lead into halftime.
Senior guard James Webster scored 13 points for ECHS, which was a tie for the leading scorer on the team. Webster also hit 1-of-4 free throws in the game.
Junior forward Lawrence Arnold also scored 13 points for the Blue Devils, but had a rough night at the charity stripe shooting 1-for-8.
Hayes said the Blue Devils are constantly working to improve their free throw shooting at practice.
The Blue Devils and Jaguars both came out of the locker room looking for a win in the second half, and neither team would back down.
Both teams fought strong defenses and poor shooting to end the third quarter with eight points apiece and a 37-32 Blue Devils lead.
Blue Devils junior guard Eric Davis scored 12 points in the game, while senior Dontae Johnson added two points in the loss. Senior guard Charles Crook scored one point for the Blue Devils.
Hayes said it was a great game on both sides through the first three quarters, and he added that neither side would back down.
In the fourth and final quarter, the Jaguars pulled ahead of ECHS and outscored them 17-7 to win the game 49-43.
Hayes said the Blue Devils are working hard to win games, but just have trouble when they fall behind.
The Blue Devils next game is Friday in the Escambia County Tournament against the W.S. Neal Blue Eagles. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m.