The Long County boys basketball team hosted arch-rival Tattnall County Friday in a big 2-AAA matchup.

The game started about as even as it could be, with the Battle Creek Warriors holding a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Over the next three periods the Blue Tide played hard, but were out-rebounded by the visitors.

Unable to keep pace with the Warriors second shots, Long County lost the hard-fought game 76-66.

Leading scorers for the Blue Tide were Henry Blair with 16 points, Terry Smith, who put up 15, Christian Bass, who added 14, Ryheim Izzard who chipped in 8, and Stephan Hugley who had 7.

With the loss, the Blue Tide fell to 14-8 overall and 4-3 in the region, while Tattnall County improved their record to 11-10 overall and also went to 4-3 in the region.

The 4-3 mark puts Long and Tattnall in a tie for the number two spot in the region standings.

According to MaxPreps.com, the other standings in the region have Liberty County on top with a 6-1 mark (13-5 overall), Appling County in the fourth spot with a 3-4 record (4-13) and Brantley County (7-11) and Pierce County (8-11) in the cellar with 2-5 marks.

With only four games left on the regular season schedule and four of them being region contests, each one is crucial for Long County.

Friday, the Blue Tide will host Brantley County. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.