Escambia County High School picked up its first win of the season at a Thanksgiving tournament hosted at Greenville High School last week.

The Blue Devils (1-4, 0-0) went 1-2 in the tournament defeating Booker T. Washington out of Tuskegee 48-34 and falling to Sidney Lanier High School 69-51 and Monroe County High School 51-48.

In the tournament, the Blue Devils were plagued by poor free throw shooting, head coach Anthony Hayes said.

“We played good basketball in all of our games,” he said. “Our free throw shooting really really proved to be the difference in our match ups.”

 

MCHS 51

ECHS 48

In the final day of the Thanksgiving tournament in Greenville, the Escambia County Blue Devils fell 51-48 in a tough battle against the Monroe County Tigers.

The Blue Devils (1-4, 0-0) battled all game long with the Tigers as the teams traded the lead several times, but it was the third and fourth quarters that proved to be the difference.

In the first half, the teams each had a strong quarter as ECHS led at the end of the first quarter 16-8, but the Tigers bounced back in the second quarter outscoring ECHS 12-4 to take a 20-20 tie into halftime.

Following the break, the Tigers used their second quarter momentum to pull a slight advantage over the Blue Devils.

In the third quarter, the Tigers outscored the Blue Devils 10-8 to grab a 30-28 lead moving into the final period of play.

The teams played until the buzzer in the fourth quarter as the game stayed tight for the final minutes with the Tigers winning the quarter 21-20 and coming away with the 51-48 win.

In the loss, the Blue Devils were led by guard Fred Knight’s 15 points, while sophomore forward Desmond Williams posted 14 points.

Escambia County also had scoring support from Tony McAroy (9 points) and Carl Staples (4 points).

 

ECHS 48

B.T.W. 34

Escambia County earned their first win of the season on the second day of the Greenville High School Thanksgiving tournament as the Blue Devils defeated Booker T. Washington 48-34.

The Blue Devils (1-3, 0-0) held the lead the entire game as the pushed past the Golden Eagles early and maintained their performance for four quarters.

In the first quarter, the Blue Devils jumped out to a quick 14-10 lead and extended their lead to 22-13 heading into halftime.

Following halftime, the Blue Devils continued to control the game on their way to the victory.

In the third quarter, ECHS outscored Booker T. Washington 9-4 to extend their lead moving into the final quarter.

The teams paced each other in the fourth period with each scoring 17 points as the Blue Devils held on for the 48-34 victory.

Escambia County was led by Tony McAroy and Desmond Williams in the win with both players scoring 10 points.

Blue Devil Fred Knight added eight points, while Tyrell Ford posted six points.

 

Lanier 69

ECHS 51

Escambia County remained winless as they opened the Thanksgiving tournament at Greenville High School with a 69-51 loss to the Sidney Lanier Poets.

The Blue Devils (0-3, 0-0) never had a grasp on the contest as the Poets jumped out to a 21-13 lead in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Poets extended their lead over the Blue Devils by four points as they went into halftime ahead 35-23.

Following halftime, the Blue Devils fell further behind the Poets as Lanier cruised to a win.

In the third period, the Blue Devils fought to get back in the game, but were outscored 17-14 by the Poets who took their commanding lead into the fourth period.

In the final quarter, the Blue Devils finally outscored the Poets 19-18, but it was not enough to mount a comeback as Sidney Lanier won 69-51.

The Blue Devils were led by Desmond Williams and Dalvin Craft in the loss. Williams recorded 14 points, while Williams added 12 points.

Tyrell Ford and Fred Knight each added in five points for the Blue Devils, while Tony McAroy and Derrick Williams each scored three.