By By ZACH BROOKS
Sports Writer
This week the Escambia County Blue Devil Boys Varsity Basketball team played two games against the Blount Leopards and Escambia High School out of Pensacola
The Devils lost to Blount on Tuesday night 76-54 in a game that was closer than the scoreboard suggests.
The Devils then lost a heart-breaking thriller to Escambia 57-56 Thursday night.
Blount came into it's game against Escambia County with one of the best high school players in the country in Kennedy Winston.
Winston scored 25 points in the win, and was a major factor in the Leopards killer run in the second quarter.
The first quarter was relativity close for the Devils as they were only down 12-10.
Then, the second quarter onslaught began.
The second half was evenly played by both teams, as both teams combined for a 40-39 score for the half.
Blount's win gives them an edge in area competition.
The Devils next game against Blount will be at home on January 26th at 7:30.
The Devils next area game will be against the Robertsdale Golden Bears. This game will be huge for the Devils, as they do not want to go 0-2 in area play. The Devils play Robertsdale at home on November 30th at 7:30.
Barrett Finney had a huge game for the Devils, scoring 22 points and pulling down six rebounds. Layton Knight, Jeremy McCants, and Damien Robinson all followed with eight points.
Steven Moore led the Devils in rebounding with eight.
The Devils then lost the heart-breaker to Escambia County High School Thursday night in Pensacola.
The Devils were down by one point with five seconds on the clock, when Kenny Clark was fouled on his shot and went to the line for his two foul shots to either tie, win, or lose the game.
It was do or die time for the Devils as Clark stepped up to the line. Clark had too sink both shots to give the Devils the win. The gymnasium was deathly quiet during Clark's shots. But when both of Clark's shots went in to give the Devils a one point lead, pandemonium broke loose in the Blue Devil stands.
The sweet taste of victory was to be denied to the Devils though. As Escambia took the inbounds pass coast to coast in five seconds and deposited the ball in the basket, at the buzzer, to give Escambia a last-second win.
The Devils were down 28-10 at half-time, but came out of the half a new team, scoring five unanswered points. Unfortunately, Escambia came out firing too, as they took a 45-36 lead into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Devils however, as they outscored Escambia 21-10, leading up to Clark's free throws. "I was proud of the intensity our boys played with in the second half," Coach Zarahn said.
ECHS plays Pensacola's Tate High School next on Saturday night. "We should benefit from the experience we are getting from this tournament." Coach Zarahn said. "Escambia and Tate are the biggest schools in Pensacola and it is saying something to say we can play with them."
Finney led the Devils in scoring with 13 points. Damien Robinson followed with 11 points, while Knight and Clark each had 10 apiece.
Knight also led the Devils in rebounds with eight. Katral Johnson followed with seven rebounds. The game Saturday night will be at 7:30.