The McIntosh County basketball teams on Thursday traveled to Ludowici, where they beat both Blue Tide squads. Though the Long County boys and girls played well, they were outmatched by Darien’s top 20 ranked teams. The Blue Tide lost 70-56, and the Lady Tide lost 56-31.
In the boys game, the Buccaneers had a 30-16 lead at the half. The Tide couldn’t make up any ground, but they did match the visiting team bucket for bucket, with each squad scoring 40 points.
Long County’s leading scorers were Vanda Vereen Jr., who had 18 points; Brendon Scott, who chipped in 17 points; Clay Strickland, who posted 10 points; and James Francis, who put in 9 points. Trevon Scott led the Buccaneers with 25 points, and Wesley Grant and Brandon Moran each had 10.
Early in their game, the Lady Tide struggled against a faster and more physical Lady Buc team. By the end of the third period, the home squad found itself down, 42-19. Just as they have all season, though, the Long County girls played with heart and almost kept pace with their opponents in the final period, putting up 12 points to McIntosh’s 14. The Lady Tide’s leading scorers were Elexxus Wrighton, who had 8 points; Malaka Elix; who had 7 points; and Kat Wingate, who put up 5 points.
With the losses, the Long County boys are 6-17 overall and 4-8 in Region 2B-AA. The Lady Tide is 4-20 overall and 2-10 in the region. The Buccaneers, who came into the game ranked No. 6 in Region 2-AA by MaxPreps.com, improved their record to 14-8 overall and 8-1 in the region, while the Lady Bucs, who were No. 17 in the state, improved to 15-8 overall and 11-1 in the region.
Long County also recognized the senior athletes between games Thursday. On Friday, the Long County teams traveled to Bryan County for their final game of the regular season. For results from that game, see Wednesday’s Courier.

Tide — 11/5/18/22: 56
Bucs — 14/16/17/23: 70

Lady Tide — 8/7/4/12: 31
Lady Bucs — 15/13/14/14: 56