Hillcrest-Evergreen got the best of the Escambia County Blue Devils on Tuesday night as they defeated them 63-57 in Evergreen.

The Blue Devils (1-1) fell behind in the first half and could not overcome the lead that the Jaguars had mounted.

Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said he was proud of the way his team played against Hillcrest.

“We are proud of the six players we took to Hillcrest Tuesday,” he said. “Our message was to compete, play hard and we did that.”

In the first quarter, the Jaguars jumped out to a six-point lead as they outscored the Blue Devils 13-7.

They continued their run in the second period using their size as a mismatch to extend their lead and go into halftime leading 29-17.

Hayes said the size of the Jaguars held his team back and made them use a different strategy.

“Due to Hillcrest being so big inside we were hurt on second-chance points opportunities,” he said. “Our style of play had to be put off until the right time in the second half.”

Holding their style of the play helped close the gap that Hillcrest built, but it proved to hurt as well with the Blue Devils unable to overcome the deficit.

ECHS took control in the third and fourth quarters as they outscored Hillcrest in both.

The Blue Devils gained some momentum in the third as they scored 14 points to the 12 by the Jaguars, and cut into the lead slightly in the fourth and final period outscoring them 26-22, but falling by a final of 63-57.

Blue Devil C.J. Pierce led the Blue Devils with 23 points, while DeMarcus McMillian followed up with 12 of his own.

Hayes said Pierce did a good job of carrying the offensive load against Hillcrest. He added forward Pete Myers did a strong job down in the post.

“C.J. carried the bulk of the load on offense,” he said. “Pete balled all night on defense for us. He did what he could against their bigs and held his own.”

Other Blue Devils recording points included Tony McAroy with nine, NaShawn Hartley with six, Myers with five and Fred Knight with two.

Hayes said his team improved on their free throw opportunities.

“We shot 82 percent from the free throw line,” he said. “That was a plus for us and shows me that we are improving in that area. It was a great game to be a part of and we continue to get better every day.”

The Blue Devils next game is today at Bay Minette. Games tipoff at 2 p.m.