The Long County boys’ basketball team beat Benedictine Military School 64-57 to claim the Region 2-AA Championship Saturday.
For the Lady Tide the tournament ended in despair as they fell to St. Vincent’s Academy 59-39, wrapping up a fourth-place finish.

The boys’ game went back and fourth all night, and the Cadets led 43-37 after three periods. In the fourth, led by Perrell Brisbane, Long County went on a 17-3 run to take back the lead 54-46.
Both teams continued to play well, but during the stretch run, the Blue Tide forced several turnovers that eventually were the difference in the game.

Brisbane finished the night with a game-high 29 points. Other notable scorers for Long County were Henry Blair, who had 13 points, and Christian Bass, who put up 10. The leading scorer for the Cadets was Terry Tolbert, who had 24 points.
Blue Tide head coach Deshon Brock said winning the championship felt good for the players and the coaches.

“It feels great, amazing. I can’t think of anything to describe it,” he said.
Brock also praised his players, saying their performance in the fourth quarter was huge.
“We came out strong early, but got gassed in the second quarter and couldn’t score,” Brock said. “In the fourth quarter, it came down to a gut check, and we played man-to-man and just outplayed them.”

He said his team’s defensive effort in the final period made the difference.

Lady Tide
In the girls’ championship game, Vidalia took home the trophy, beating Jeff Davis 39-29. In the boys’ consolation game, Vidalia beat Bryan County 58-44, securing third place.

Now, the Long County teams move on to the state playoffs. Tuesday night, the Lady Tide (19-7) hit the road against Swainsboro (17-8). The game was anticipated to be close, with the Lady Tide ranked at No. 16 in the MaxPreps AA State Power Poll and the Lady Tigers at No. 17. Results from that game were not available by press time.

Tonight, the Blue Tide (17-7) host Metter (8-20) at 6:30. The Tide go into the game as the clear favorite, ranked No. 21 in the state, compared to the Tigers at No. 52.