The Long County Blue Tide basketball teams tipped off 2026 in a big way as they swept the Groves Rebels in a key region contest on Tuesday, January 6.

The girls came into the game having not played over the Christmas break and having lost their last four games after starting the year 5-1.

They snapped that skid with a 58-45 win against the high-powered Groves offense, who came into the game averaging 49.3 points per game and coming off a 90-point showing against region foe Johnson.

The offensive woes seemed to show themselves early for the Lady Tide as they did not a hit shot from the floor until the 2:11 mark of the first quarter. They also committed five turnovers in that near six-minute stretch and trailed 8-3.

That bucket at the 2:11 mark, however, sparked a 6-0 run that had them trailing by just a point with less than a minute left in the quarter.

However, after missing their first four attempts from 3-point range, the Rebels hit one at the buzzer to take an 11-7 lead into the second quarter.

The Rebels opened the quarter on a 9-5 run to build their lead to eight points, their largest lead so far. However, Zae Buckner’s 3-point shot sparked a run for the Tide as they scored the next nine points to put them up 21-20 with 3:14 left in the half.

That run grew to 15-0, boosted by Hollan Clark’s layup. The Tide’s lead grew to double digits as they stretched their run to 21-0 before the Rebels finally scored their first points since the 3:30 mark in the first quarter.

After the Rebels hit three 3-point shots and connected on three free throws after a foul on another shot in the first half, they cooled down significantly, proceeding to miss their next 15 3-point attempts, eight of which came in the third quarter.

The Tide however, did not slow down. They built their lead to nearly 20 points as they led 48-30 at the end of the third quarter and went into cruise control, thanks to Khloe Morris’ tough defense in the fourth.

The Tide improved to 6-5 and 2-2 in region play. Buckner led with 15 points as she returned from injury while Morris had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Amya Edwards also added 13 points.

The boys were coming off a second place finish at the Lee County Roundball Classic over the holiday break. That loss to Monroe in the championship game, a 50-49 thriller, was their first loss in 11 games and they got back on track with a key 77-55 region win against the Rebels.

The first quarter started against the Tide as the Rebels built an early 12-6 lead before the Tide went on a 6-0 run to tie the game with 1:50 left.

The Rebels led 16-14 going into the second quarter, mostly due to the Tide starting out cold from three, missing all five attempts in the first.

Things changed in a hurry for the Tide as the Rebels coach was given a technical foul between quarters, leading to two made free throws and the game being tied at 16 as the second quarter began.

The Tide proceeded to have their biggest quarter of the season, scoring 25 points and holding the Rebels to just five.

Their struggles from 3 also completely changed as they hit all five attempts, with Ja’mere Martin making all four of his shots.

The Tide led 39-21 at the half. Martin hit another two of his three attempts from 3 in the third quarter as the Tide led by as much as 27 in the third quarter.

They moved to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in region play.

Martin finished the night 6-of-8 from 3 with 20 points. Zyi Holt added 17, Jy’son Mallard added 13 and Jonathan Talbert added 10.