By By Chandler Myers
Escambia County’s first area game took more than four quarters to decide as the Blue Devils were defeated 71-69 in overtime by the Vigor Wolves on Tuesday night at ECHS.
The Blue Devils (7-8, 0-1) fought the Wolves all night in their first meeting of the season, but could not keep their lead late in the game, which led to overtime.
In the first quarter, ECHS fell behind early and was behind by six points before cutting Vigor’s lead to 11-8 when the buzzer sounded.
During the second quarter, the Blue Devils took over the game and pulled out to a comfortable 29-22 lead heading into halftime.
Blue Devils senior forward Johnathan Gholsby led all ECHS scorers with 24 points. Gholsby also went six-for-six at the free throw line, which was also a team best.
ECHS head coach Anthony Hayes said that the early parts of the game were the toughest for his team because of the holidays.
Junior forward Kingston Craft scored 13 points in the oss for ECHS, and he shot five-for-nine from the free throw line.
Hayes said the halftime lead was a good boost of confidence for his team.
After halftime, the teams battled back-and-forth scoring each trip they made up and down the court or both teams turning the ball over. Vigor scored 19 points in third period and the Blue Devils scored 17, which allowed the Wolves to cut into the lead. At the end of the third quarter, ECHS led Vigor 46-41.
In the fourth quarter, Vigor muscled their way back into the game by scoring 23 points and only giving up 18 to the Blue Devils. The push with just a couple minutes left in the game proved vital for their chances at winning and sent the teams to overtime tied at 64.
Hayes said the last two minutes of regulation were important, but the Blue Devils could not finish the game out.
In overtime, the Wolves pushed their way ahead of the Blue Devils and hit their final mark of 71, while the Blue Devils forward Kingston Craft missed a lay up at the end of the game to send the game further.
Hayes said he was proud of his guys, and added they need to shake it off and get ready for their next game.
Blue Devils junior guard Eric Davis scored seven points in the loss, while senior guard James Webster scored six points, but shot zero-for-three from the free throw line.
Hayes said free throws were a killer for the Blue Devils again as they only shot 56 percent from the free throw line.
ECHS senior guard Charles Crook score five points and missed all three attempts he made at the free throw line.
Blue Devils seniors Myles Everett and Nate Davis scored four points apiece.
Junior forward Lawrence Arnold added four points, and shot a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line in the loss.
Blue Devils freshman guard Rayvon Madison scored two points.
The Blue Devils next game is against Northview at ECHS on Monday. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m.