By By Chandler Myers
Escambia County’s Blue Devils are riding another three-game win streak after defeating the Robertsdale Golden Bears 71-37 Thursday night at ECHS.
The Blue Devils (11-10, 2-3) last hot streak came in December when they won three-straight games and won the Escambia County tournament.
The victory over Robertsdale puts the Blue Devils over the .500 mark for winning percentage for the first time since their opening night win over the Flomaton Hurricanes on Nov. 18.
Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said his team has come a long way in the last few games. He added that it is at the perfect time.
ECHS’s win was the largest margin of victory this season as they contiuously put up points against the Golden Bears.
In the first quarter, the Blue Devils quickly took command of the game and poured in 26 points on Robertsdale and only allowed the visitors to chip in eight.
The next period was tighter, but saw the same result as the Blue Devils kept control.
Seventeen second quarter points allowed ECHS to mount an overwhelming lead as the Golden Bears only added 14, which didn’t scratch the Blue Devils lead. At the halftime buzzer, the Devils led 43-22.
Hayes said the team just came together in the first half and played in sync.
After the break, the results were the same as ECHS could not be slowed down.
During the third period, the Blue Devils moved the ball up-and-down the court, and they scored at will, while the Golden Bears points came far and few between. ECHS outscored Robertsdale 18-10 in the quarter and took an even larger lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils sealed their win with 11 points, and only allowed the Golden Bears to score five en route to a huge 71-37 win over the Class 6A squad from Baldwin County.
Hayes said he was excited about the amount of effort he received from his team in the win.
Junior forward Kingston Craft paced the Blue Devils with 21 points, while shooting 2-of-4 from the free throw line against the Golden Bears.
Senior guard James Webster supported Craft’s effort by chipping in 12 points, but shot just 1-of-5 from the charity stripe.
Blue Devils’ forwards Dontae Johnson and Lawrence Arnold each scored nine points in the win. Arnold, a junior, shot 1-for-2 from the free throw line.
Senior Johnathan Gholsby and sophomore Cedric Pierce added seven points apiece, the duo shot 2-for-9 in free throws in the victory.
Blue Devils senior guard Charles Crook scored three points and hit one-of-two on his free throw attempts during the game.
Senior guard Rayvon Madison posted two points for the Blue Devils, while junior Eric Davis scored one point and shot one-for-two from the stripe.
Sophomore Quinton Craft added one point off of a free throw in the win.
Hayes said the number of players scoring in the game shows the true depth of his team.
The Blue Devils next game is Tuesday night against T.R. Miller at ECHS. Seniors will be honored at the final home game. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m.
Blue Devils 64
Toros 54
Escambia County ended Tuesday night with a two-game win streak and a 64-54 victory over area opponent Spanish Fort.
The Blue Devils (10-10, 2-3) picked up the win after a hard fought game with the Toros.
In the first quarter, the Blue Devils jumped out to a quick lead and outscored the visiting team 17-11.
ECHS pushed the Toros around again in the second quarter and added 14 points before halftime, while Spanish Fort could only score 10. As the halftime buzzer sounded the Blue Devils took a 10-point lead in to the locker room.
Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said team’s shooting was much better starting off the game.
In the third quarter, ECHS’s lead stayed intact although they were outscored by the Toros 14-13.
Heading into the final quarter, the Blue Devils returned to their first half form and put up a game high 20 points in the fourth, while only giving up 19 to Spanish Fort.
Hayes said the Blue Devils played together in the game and looked like a team.
Blue Devils junior forward Lawrence Arnold led the team with 15 points and shot 3-for-6 from the free throw line in the win. Junior forward Kingston Craft chipped in 14 points for ECHS.
ECHS senior Johnathan Gholsby added 11 points in the win, shot just 1-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Senior guard James Webster posted nine points in the win, while shooting 1-for-3 at the line for ECHS.
Blue Devils junior forward Eric Davis shot a perfect 4-for-4 in free throws and scored six points in the victory.
Senior Charles Crook added six points and shot 4-of-7 from the free throw line.
Blue Devils sophomore Cedric Pierce chipped in three points.
Blue Devils 71
Dolphins 61
The Blue Devils of Atmore picked up their first area win with a 71-61 victory over the Gulf Shores Dolphins last Friday in Gulf Shores.
The Blue Devils (9-10, 1-3) picked up the win thanks to scoring efforts in the first and third quarters.
In the first quarter, ECHS poured in 19 points for the scoreboard and only allowed the hosting Dolphins to score 13.
During the second quarter, Gulf Shores fought back and outscored the Blue Devils 12-10 to cut the lead, and the teams went into the locker rooms with ECHS ahead 29-25.
Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said both teams did not want to give ground heading into the break.
After halftime, the Blue Devils extended their lead by shooting the lights out in the third quarter.
In the third period, ECHS put up 22 points and Gulf Shores only scored 16 to help the Blue Devils take a 10-point lead into the final quarter.
The Blue Devils sealed their victory in the fourth as both teams added 20 points to their totals, and ECHS left Gulf Shores with their first area win.
Hayes said picking up the first area victory up was a big burden off of the backs of the Blue Devils.
Blue Devils senior forward Johnathan Gholsby paced the Blue Devils with 21 points, while shooting 1-of-5 from the free throw line.
Junior forward Kingston Craft chipped in 17 points for the Blue Devils, and shot 2-of-8 at the charity stripe in the win.
ECHS senior guard James Webster added 10 points and shot 42 percent from the free throw line.
Junior forward Lawrence Arnold and senior guard Charles Crook posted eight points each for the Blue Devils. Arnold also shot 4-of-6 from the free throw line.
Junior Eric Davis scored three points for the Blue Devils, while senior Nate Davis and sophomore Cedric Pierce score two points apiece.