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Buzzer-beater boosts Tide
Long County knocks off rival Wayne County
VandaVareen
Vanda Vareen (3) nails a long 3-pointer in the first quarter last Saturday against Wayne County. - photo by Photo by Mike Riddle

The Long County High School boys’ basketball team made a last-second shot to beat Wayne County, 66-64, on Saturday in Ludowici. 
Henry Peoples’ jumper from the free-throw line clinched the win for the Blue Tide, who had to battle all night against the Yellow Jackets.
 “It’s a big rivalry game when we play Wayne County,” Long County coach Deshon Brock said. “I’m proud of how we held our composure tonight. That speaks volumes about this team.”
Early on, it looked like Wayne County was in command. The Yellow Jackets came out firing with a 7-0 run to take a 17-11 lead into the second period.
In the second period, the Wayne County team extended its lead to 24-13 with seven minutes left in the half. 
But Long County began to gain its composure, and a big slam dunk as the half expired allowed the Blue Tide to narrow the gap to 30-26.
In the third period, the Blue Tide came out of the locker room with a plan in place and went on a 9-0 run to take a 35-30 lead. But the Yellow Jackets came right back to make it a 50-48 game. The Tide were up by a bucket entering the final period.
The teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter, but neither was able to put the other away  until Peoples’ shot at the buzzer sealed the win.
Peoples finished with a team-high 24 points for Long County. Jamal Anderson added 15 points, and Chris LaRochester finished with 12. Meanwhile, Krenwick Height poured in a game-high 29 points for Wayne County.
A number of Long County players put forth solid effort, Brock said.
“James Francis did a good job giving us some quality minutes in the third quarter,” Brock said. “Deonte Ellis also did good on defense in the second half, and my starters came back and finished the game strong.”
The win improves the Blue Tide to 8-4 overall and 5-2 in Region 2-AA.
The Tide will play host to Appling County at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Note: The Long County girls’ team lost to the Wayne County girls, 58-20. Read more about the Lady Tide-Lady Jackets game in Friday’s edition of the Courier. For photos from the games, go to www.coastalcourier.com.

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