Escambia County kicked off 2012 on a high note with a victory over the UMS-Wright Bulldogs on Tuesday night at ECHS.

The Blue Devils (13-4, 1-0) played UMS-Wright in their first area game of the season winning 48-35 in front of their home crowd.

Things were tight in the first half with the Blue Devils falling behind 16-13 at the end of the first quarter, but they picked things up in the second period to outscore the Bulldogs 12-0 to go into halftime leading 25-16.

Following halftime, the Blue Devils continued to control the game never giving up their lead en route to the victory.

In the third quarter, ECHS used the momentum they gathered in the second quarter and used it to outscore the Bulldogs 12-8.

With a 37-24 lead, the Blue Devils held firm to their 13-point lead with both sides swapping buckets in the final eight minutes as ECHS came away with the 48-35 win.

The shooting and discipline of the Bulldogs forced ECHS to change their defensive strategy, Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said.

“UMS-Wright is a disciplined team,” he said. “They moved the ball around and shot well, so we had to move out of our zone defense in order to create turnovers and missed shots.”

Desmond Williams and Fred Knight were the leaders for the Blue Devils as they both scored in double digits. Williams finished with a team-high 11 points, while Knight chipped in 10.

Blue Devil Dalvin Craft played an instrumental role in the post and finished the match up with six points.

Escambia County also received offense from Desmond Johnson and Tony McAroy in the win with both players scoring five points.

Also scoring for the Blue Devils in the win were Darious Pettway (four points), Tyrell Ford (three points), De’Andreas Johnson (two points) and Peter Myers (two points).

The Blue Devils next game will be Friday, Jan. 13 with a trip to Mobile to take on Saraland in area action. Games begin at 5 p.m.

ECHS 61
J.F. Shields 55

In a tournament to close out the 2011 year, the Escambia County Blue Devils finished with another championship trophy as they defeated the J.F. Shields 61-55 in the championship game of a holiday tournament hosted by J.F.  Shields on Dec. 30.

The Blue Devils (12-4, 0-0) came up with a big third quarter to run to the win as they overtook the Panthers after being tied at halftime.

In the first quarter, ECHS took advantage of scoring opportunities, but could not stop the Panthers when they held the ball as J.F. Shields lead 11-10 at the buzzer.

The Blue Devils bounced with a stronger quarter in the second period as they outscored the Panthers 13-12 to tie the game at 23 heading into halftime.

Following halftime, the Blue Devils found a rhythm and ran with it as they put up big numbers in the third quarter.

Twenty-six points in the third period put the Blue Devils ahead of the Panthers by eight points as they held Shields to 18 points in the quarter.

With a 49-41 lead, the Blue Devils added 13 points in the fourth quarter and held off the comeback attempt of the Panthers to steal the tournament and win 61-55.

In the victory, Fred Knight and Dalvin Craft each posted strong point totals for the Blue Devils. Knight finished with a team-leading 20 points, while Craft added 19 of his own.

Blue Devil Tony McAroy posted nine points in the victory with Desmond Willams scoring eight.

Rounding out the scoring were Tyrell Ford with four points and Desmond Johnson with two.

ECHS 65
Monroe Co. 62

In their fourth meeting of the season, the Blue Devils of Atmore picked up their second victory in a row over the Monroe County Tigers.

The Blue Devils (11-4, 0-0) earned this win 65-62 in the first round of the holiday tourament at J.F. Shields on Dec. 29.

In a tightly contested match up, the Blue Devils had to hold off a fourth-quarter surge to sneak away with the win.

Escambia County opened the first quarter with the lead as they came away with a 9-7 advantage after the low-scoring period.

In the second period, ECHS extended their lead outscoring the Tigers 10-8 to go into halftime leading 19-15.

Following halftime, both teams opened up their offenses and shots started falling creating a run to the finish.

The Blue Devils again won the quarter in the third period as they outscored Monroe County 23-17 to create a comfortable 10-point lead.

Monroe County took the momentum in the final quarter as they went on a strong run to close the gap on the Blue Devils outscoring them 30-23. The run closed the gap on the score, but ECHS held strong to co me away with the victory.

Desmond Williams and Fred Knight led the way for the Blue Devils as both scored 20 points in the victory. Dalvin Craft also scored in double digits adding 10 points in the win.

Blue Devil Tony McAroy scored eight points for ECHS, while Desmond Johnson scored three.

Nyshaun Hartley and Darious Pettway rounded out the scoring with two points each.