The Long County High School boys and girls basketball teams wrapped up their seasons this week, falling in the quarterfinals of the Region 2-AA tournament.
On Tuesday, both squads won their tourney opening games with the Blue Tide upsetting Bacon County, 49-45, and the Lady Tide destroying Groves High School, 69-20. But the good times came to an end on Wednesday when the Tide boys fell to Benedictine Military School, 63-51, and the ladies lost to Jeff Davis, 45-31.
Though the Lady Tide didn’t make the state tournament, they did have an impressive year, posting an 18-10 overall record and a 7-7 region mark. The Blue Tide, on the other hand, finished up with a 6-21 overall record and a 1-13 region mark. Both teams now are looking toward next year.
The Lady Tide’s future looks bright since they’ll lose only one senior this year. Next year’s team should see the return of juniors Katie Estill, Kat Wingate, Keshawdra Cooper, Mya Howard and Keke Calhoun. Also returning are sophomores Elexxus Wrighton, Malaka Elix, Ravae Rose, Anazha Kincaid, Jakayla Porter and Patra London. Freshman Yaya Wright will come back with a year of varsity time under her belt.
Next season could go well for the Blue Tide, but the boys still may be two years away from returning to previous glory. Seniors Xavier Stapleton, Brendon Scott, Trae Davis, Keon Burn and Shuvon Davis are slated to return, as are other key contributors, such as Jamin Davis, Terry Smith, Christian Bass and Stephon Hughley.
The Region 2-AA tournament concluded Friday night with boys and girls championship games featuring Vidalia High School and McIntosh County. The Indians swept both titles. The boys nabbed a 58-50 victory over the Buccaneers; and the Lady Indians beat the Lady Bucs, 70-56.