The Long County Blue Tide basketball teams opened 2024 on a sour note when they welcomed in region foe Calvary Day on Friday, Jan. 5. The girls had a fourth quarter rally come up short in 56-38 loss while the boys were upset 53-51 in the final minute.

The girls took on the region-leading Lady Cavaliers looking to continue their winning ways after ending 2023 with a win over Vidalia. It was low scoring to start the quarter with the Cavs leading 9-5 late in the period.

However, they closed out on a 4-0 run to go up 13-5 and extended that run to 9-0 to take an 18-5 lead midway through the second.

Freshman Zae Buckner finally hit a field goal to end the scoring drought for the Tide and the Tide closed out on a 7-4 run to end the half down 22-14.

With an eight-point lead, the Cavaliers were pretty comfortable to just cruise in the third quarter as they led 37-26 going into the final period. However, it was the fourth quarter where things got hairy for the Cavs.

The Tide opened the quarter on a 7-2 run to cut the Cavs lead to just six points with 6:30 left in the game. However, a big 3-point shot followed up by a three-point play gave them a 12-point lead just 30 seconds later.

They turned that into a 13-0 run and a 52-33 lead with 3:00 left and that was enough to put the Tide away. Makinzie Moody led the Tide with 17 points as they fell to 3-8 and 2-2 in region play.

The boys were coming off their first loss in nine tries as they lost to Sonoraville in the finals of the Adairsville Christmas Clash on December 30. They looked to get back to their winning ways and welcomed in the 1-10 Cavaliers.

The game started off much lower scoring than the Tide are accustomed to as they led just 12-7 going into the second. This was despite the team going 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

Roderick Randall hit another three3 in the second quarter, but it was still a low-scoring affair as the Tide led 25-22 at the half.

The third quarter was where things turned sour for the Tide. The Cavaliers went on a 6-3 run to tie the game 28-28 with 5 minutes left.

A bucket at the 3:15 mark gave them a 34-33 lead, their first of the game. A three-point play closed out a 10-0 run as they led 40-33 with 2:40 left in the third.

Calvary led 43-36 going into the fourth quarter and built their biggest lead, 47-37, early in the fourth. The Tide went on an 8-0 run to make the score 47-45 with 2:15 left before sophomore Izzy Brimlett’s layup tied the score at 47 with 1:50 left in the game.

The Cavaliers worked their way back up to a three-point lead and then hit two free throws to make the score 53-48 with less than 15 seconds left on the clock.