By By Chandler Myers
Escambia County’s Blue Devils emerged from their home game of the year victorious on senior night with a 71-69 victory over the T.R. Miller Tigers on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils (13-10, 3-3) had to win the game in an extra period after fighting back from an early deficit.
In the first quarter, the Blue Devils fell behind quickly as the Tigers scored 13 points, and held ECHS to four.
The Blue Devils took charge of the second quarter by chipping away at the Tigers’ lead by scoring 20 points and giving up only 15 to Miller. As the teams entered the locker room, the Blue Devils still trailed the Tigers 28-24.
Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said mental mistakes hurt his team early, but they made up for them in the second quarter.
After halftime, it seemed to be all Blue Devils as the team came out with all the momentum they could swing.
Twenty one points in the third quarter helped the Blue Devils climb ahead of the Tigers with a 45-39 lead heading into the final period.
Miller would take advantage of mistakes by ECHS and play strong defense to move back into position by outscoring ECHS 20-14 to cause a tie and move the game into overtime.
The Blue Devils and Tigers would not give up as both teams scored each trip down the court. The Blue Devils would have a little more in them as they put up 12 points in the extra time and hold the visiting Tigers to 10 points.
Hayes said his team played well against Miller and is still improving as the season draws to a close.
Blue Devils junior guard Kingston Craft led the team with 23 points, while shooting 4-of-10 from the free throw line.
ECHS junior guard Eric Davis and senior guard James Webster scored 10 points each in the win for the Blue Devils. Davis shot a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, while Webster hit 2-of-6 from the line.
Senior forward Johnathan Gholsby ended his senior night with eight points and shot 75 percent from the free throw line hitting 3-of-4.
Junior forward Lawrence Arnold and sophomore guard Cedric Pierce added five points apiece in the win. Arnold shot 1-of-5 from the line on the night, and Pierce hit both of his free throws in the game.
Two more Crafts scored for the Blue Devils with Dalvin Craft chipping in four points, while Quinton Craft added three points.
Senior guard Dontae Johnson added two points for the Blue Devils.