On Thursday, June 17, the Long County Blue Tide boys basketball team hosted eight teams in the first FCA Jamboree organized by the Okefenokee FCA organization. The Blue Tide played several local teams and came out on top in both the varsity and JV brackets.

In the varsity bracket, the Blue Tide played the Colquitt County Packers first, beating them 55-45. It was back and forth in the first half before the Tide pulled away, eventually leading by 13 at one point in the game. Senior Trinity Gray showed out, hitting three shots from three-point range and playing a big role inside.

The Tide then played the Bradwell Tigers, defeating them 48-43 to move to the championship game. Gray had another good game inside while fellow senior Cameryn Johnson made some big plays including a big alley-oop dunk from Davion Henderson.

The Blue Tide moved down to the high school gym after playing their first two games in Blakely Thornton Gymnasium. They defeated next-county rival Wayne County 44-43 to go 3-0 on the day.

The Tide JV squad also played well, defeating Colquitt County, Bradwell, and Glynn Academy to go 3-0 on the day. They dominated the Packers 41-26 and Tigers 48-31 before just edging out the Red Terrors 63-61 in the final game.

The final standings of the Jamboree are as follows:

Varsity bracket - 1st place Long County; 2nd place Wayne County; 3rd place Bradwell; 4th place Effingham County; 5th place Colquitt County; 6th place Coffee County; 7th place Bryan County; 8th place Claxton

JV bracket - 1st place Long County; 2nd place Glynn Academy; 3rd place Bradwell; 4th place Coffee County; 5th place Effingham County; 6th place Bryan County; 7th place Wayne County; 8th place Colquitt County

The Blue Tide are coming off a runner-up finish in the Region 1-AAA tournament last season and a Sweet Sixteen appearance, their second straight and third in the last four years. With a talented group of seniors, the team should be ready to make another run in the 2021-22 season.