By By Chandler Myers
Atmore’s Blue Devils could not bounce back from a tough loss Monday night as they dropped their second game of the season to the Hillcrest-Evergreen Jaguars 67-64 at Escambia County High School Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils (1-2, 0-0) played a much better overall game against the Jaguars, but were still unable to capitalize at the free throw line, according to their head coach Tim Moorer.
During the game, the Blue Devils shot 18-for-33 from the charity stripe, which allowed the Jaguars earn the victory.
Blue Devils Head Coach Tim Moorer said his team needs to improve on their free throws if they want to be competitive.
The Blue Devils played Hillcrest closely throughout the game, but only outscored them in one quarter.
In the first period of play, Atmore stayed close to the Jaguars with the visitors winning the quarter 14-12.
Hillcrest was able to capitalize on their lead in the second quarter adding 16 points to the Blue Devils 11 and took a comfortable 30-23 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.
Leading the Blue Devils into halftime as well as throughout the game was guard Cedric Pierce who led the Blue Devils with 14 points, three assists and one rebound. He also made a team-high six free throws on seven attempts.
Quinton Craft and Kingston Craft supported Pierce’s efforts by scoring 11 points each in the loss. Quinton Craft finished the game with two rebounds and one assist, while Kingston Craft posted four assists and one steal.
Fans saw the Blue Devils make a surging comeback in the third quarter as they scored 20 points and held the Jaguars to 16, which helped close the gap to three points heading into the final quarter.
Both teams shot lights out in the fourth period as they each scored 21 points in the quarter to give the Jaguars the three-point win.
Moorer said he was proud of the way his team played throughout the game compared to Monday night.
Other Blue Devils involved in the scoring effort included, Lawrence Arnold, who scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds; Chris Walker added seven points, two steals, one board and one assist and Dalvin Craft scored five points, blocked three shots, grabbed three rebounds and recorded an assist.
The Blue Devils next game is Dec. 1 at Hillcrest-Evergreen with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Escambia County hosted Baldwin County last night. See Wednesday’s edition of The Atmore Advance for pictures and information on the game.