A long Christmas break didn’t bother the Long County Blue Tide boys as they de-feated the Bradwell Tigers 72-58 in Hinesville Saturday and downed Pierce County 84-65 Tuesday night in Ludowici.

Tide head coach Deshon Brock said his offense against the Tigers was weak.

"We liked our defensive effort," he said. "The pressure we placed on the Tigers was great."

In the game against the Tigers, Justin Boyd put up 22 points, while Jimmy Bacon led all shooters with 25 points. On the boards, Eli Guest led the Blue Tide with 7 offensive rebounds.

Brock also praised the physical play of Mathew Moody and Eric Hadley. The coach said their effort gave the team "an emotional lift."

On Tuesday, however, the Bears surprised everyone, when they jumped out to a 4-0 lead. But after that spurt the Blue went on a 12-0 run, and by the end of the first period the home team was on top 23-9.

In the second period it was Jimmy Bacon’s show as the senior hit 13 of the first 15 points scored by Long County, and closed out the half with a thunderous slam-dunk as time expired. In the first half alone the shooting guard had 27 points, and the Long County team was clearly in command, 48-20.

When the third period began, the Bears showed they wouldn’t quit. They out played their opponents, who were clearly the better team, scoring 24 points while the Tide put up 19. After three periods, the score was Long County 67 and Pierce County 44.

The final period was the most competitive. The Bears scored 21 and the Tide put up 17.

In the game Donte Brown had 5 points, Eli Guest had 8, and Justin Boyd put up 17. Bacon led all shooters with 34 points despite limited play in the second half.

"The first half we played great, and we played as a team," Brock said. "We can’t play any better than that, but in the second half we got cute, and they got hungry."

The coach added, "That’s a credit to their coaching and their team, we didn’t finish them off like we should have, and we have got to get that killer instinct when we are up."

Brock was pleased with a present that he and the Blue Tide received over the Christmas break. Norman Thompson, who had 9 points in the game, transferred from Thomasville

"He’s a great kid, has a 4.0 G.P.A. (grade point average), and we’re just trying to find a place for him in our system," the coach said.

With the win, the Tide improved their overall record to 4-5, and their 2-AA record to 1-2.

The boys travel to Folkston tonight, taking on the Charlton County. The Indians have a 1-3 record, 1-2 in the region. The game begins at 7:30.

On Saturday, the boys are back home against the Brantley County Herons. The visitors bring a 3-7 overall record, and have yet to win a region game. That contest kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

Lady Tide

After suffering a disappointing 28-53 loss to Bradwell’s Lady Tigers Saturday night the Long County girl’s varsity won their second 2-AA Region game of the year Tuesday night in Ludowici with a 54-49 win over Pierce County.

In the first period, the Lady Blue Tide jumped all over the Lady Bears as they opened with 9-2 run. Then, with two big blocked shots by Caela LaRochester, the girls were up 14-7 at the end of one.

In the second period Brittany Mills put up 6 points, as the Lady Tide went on a 12-4 run. After two quarters it was obvious the home team was in command as they led 24-14.

During the break, Pierce head coach Chris Webber must have lit a fire in the hearts of the Lady Bears. The third period was the most competitive of the night. The Tide put up 11 points and the Bears put up 14. Long County was up 37-28 when the final period began.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears were on a mission and went on a 10-5 run to narrow the score to 38-42 with just under four minutes left. With the play of Shanetra Quarterman and Sharika Turner the Tide held on to win 54-49.

For the night, Quarterman put in 18 points, Turner added 15, Mills had a solid 9 and India Gamble and Rhea Rose contributed 4 and 2. The leading scorer for the Lady Bears was Ronnesha Smith who had 22 points.

"The girls played a heck of a game, especially closing the game out in the fourth quarter. That’s why we scheduled teams like Bradwell (Institute) and Liberty (County High School) so that when the region games started we would be battled tested for our region play," head coach Ryan Bailey said.

The coach closed out by saying, "I’m proud of them."

With the win, the Lady Tide improved their overall record to 3-6, and their 2-AA Region mark to 2-1.

Tonight the girls travel to Folkston to take on Charlton County. The Lady Indians have yet to win, and will be looking to scalp the Blue on their home turf. The game begins at 6.

The following night, in Ludowici, the Lady Tide will take on Brantley County. This game will be a big test for the home team. The Lady Herons bring an undefeated 9-0 record. Toss up is at 6 p.m.