It took nearly two months, but the Long County High School boy’s basketball team won its first game of the season Saturday. The Tide beat Region 2-AA rival Tattnall County High School in Ludowici, 72-44.
In the first quarter, both teams came out cold and the first two minutes were scoreless. The Battle Creek Warriors nabbed the first two points. Tide head coach Deshon Brock eventually pulled all his starters off the floor and sent in relief from the bench.
The strategy seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. For the rest of the period, the Tide were led by Jalen Futch, Johnnae Jones, Tommy Freeman, Chris LaRochester and Jamal Anderson, giving the team the spark it needed to take a 11-8 lead.
In the second, with the starters back on the floor, the Tide began to pull away from the Warriors, going on a 6-0 run to go up 17-8. Long County ended the half on top, 38-24.
In the third period, the Tide added to their lead, making it 54-33. In the final period, Long County outscored Tattnall 18-11 for a 72-44 victory.
The Tide’s leading scorers were Justin Boyd with 17 points and Donate Brown with 19.
After the game, Brock said it was a relief for the team to get its firs twin.
"Its great to get that monkey off our back. In the first quarter, I don’t think our starters were taking the game as serious as they should have, so I put them on the bench to prove a point. That seemed to work to get some fire back into them," the coach said.
Regarding his supporting players, Brock said he was pleased with freshmen LaRochester and Anderson.
"Seeing how well they are playing is good in that its good to know that we are adding depth to our roster, and that’s really nice when you can find it in freshmen," Brock said.
The win was also Long County’s first region victory. They are 1-1 in 2-AA and 1-5 overall.
The Tide played Glynn Academy on Tuesday in Ludowici. For a story on that game, see Friday’s Courier.