The Long County High School boys basketball team secured the top spot in the 2-AA Region with a win Friday.
The Blue Tide took on Jeff Davis High School in Hazlehurst and the Ludowici boys were too much for the home team, soundly beating the Yellow Jackets 74-38.
Justin Boyd led the Blue and White, scoring 16 points.
The win was the 18th on the year for the Tide. The boys wound up their region mark at 14-2.
On Saturday, the boys were at home and had their final game of the season, against non-region opponent Glynn Academy.
The Red Terrors came in tied for second place in the 2-AAAA Region, and both teams were looking to tune-up for upcoming tournaments.
At the end of the first half Long County was up 38-22 and the Tide never looked back, picking up their 17th win in a row, 87-63.
The leaders for the Blue were Eli Guest with 10 points, Norman Thompson with 16, Justin Boyd with 18 and Jimmy Bacon, leading all scorers with 25 points.
Head coach Deshon Brock had nothing but praise for his team.
"The defense that the team played in the second half was the kind of defense I’ve been trying to get them to play over the last few games. They just played great "D" tonight," he said, adding "I also was pleased with the play of Johnae Jones, Justin Johnson, Harold Nevills, Tommy Freeman and Akeem Boyd, coming off the bench. They came in, in the fourth quarter and executed well, securing the win."
The coach was pleased.
"We finished the season well, after starting a little slow. We want to keep on this roll, right into the region tournament and then into the state playoffs."
The Blue Tide men finished the regular season with an overall record of 19-5 and a Region 2-AA record of 14-2, and last week, they were ranked as the 9th best AA team in the GaSports.com/GACA poll.
Since the Long County team holds the top seed going into the region tournament, they are already in the semi-finals with number two seed McIntosh County.
Long will have to wait to see who they play, but their first game is Friday at Brantley County High School in Nahunta. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m.
Lady Tide
The Long County Lady Tide shook off any late season rust over the weekend, winning Friday and Saturday to wrap up their regular season.
On Friday, the girls tangled with Jeff Davis in Hazlehurst, but the Ludowici team pulled the stinger out of the Lady Yellow Jackets, winning 51-39.
The win gave the Ludowici ladies a 12-4 Region 2-AA record and the number two spot in the region.
Saturday’s game was at home for Long County, but it was a whole lot harder, as the girls faced Glynn Academy.
The Lady Red Terrors came in as the number two seed in the 2-AAAA Region, with a 17-5 overall record, having already defeated the Lady Tide earlier in the season 61-47.
At the end of the first half the Blue and White was on top 22-15, but in the third period the Terrors out scored the Tide 15-3 to go up 30-25.
In the final period, both teams played well, and the game was tied at 43-43 at the end of regulation.
In overtime, the game was taken over by the Tide’s Shareka Turner who came out and hit a big 3-pointer followed by a second lay-up to give the home crowd a 48-43 lead. India Gamble added a bucket in OT and the Tide avenged their early season loss, 50-49.
Gamble was the leading scorer with 19 points followed by Turner with 12. Brittany Mills added 9.
"I put India at the point position more in this game, to help us prepare for the region tournament. She stepped up big for us, and played well," head coach Ryan Bailey said.
Of the entire team, the coach said, "No one gave us a chance this year, but I told the team if they did what I asked them to do, we would be successful. The ladies did, and we are the number two seed in the region.
"The ladies did a great job, and they deserve all the credit."
As the number two seed in Region 2-AA, the girls are already in playoff semi-finals, so they will have to wait to see who they play.
Their first game is Friday at Brantley County High School in Nahunta. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.