With only seven players on their roster currently due to the football playoffs, the Escambia County Blue Devils were still a dominating force on the hardwood Thursday night as they cruised to a 76-48 win over the Flomaton Hurricanes at Escambia County High School.

The Blue Devils (1-0, 0-0) dominated on both ends of the court from start to finish outscoring the Hurricanes in every period of play.

Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said his team came together despite their roster being down.

“The guys really came out and played well as a team,” Hayes said. “We only had seven of our players due to the school’s success in football, but those seven guys really put on a great show.”

Escambia County opened the game with a strong first quarter as they ran over the Hurricanes defense putting up 23 points and holding the Hurricanes to 10.

They continued to dominate in the second period and extended their lead by five points to take a 38-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.

After the break, the Blue Devils picked up where they left off as they continued to play at a high level picking up 17 more points to the Hurricanes’ 13 to move into the final quarter ahead 55-33.

With a strong lead, ECHS kept their foot on the gas pedal and racked up 21 more points in the final period to close the game out and pick up the 76-48 win.

Hayes said that Flomaton was a strong opponent, and added that his team just did what they have been practicing.

“Flomaton is always a tough team to play,” he said. “They are very well-coached. We just did the things that we have been practicing daily and it paid off. Anytime a team has three guys scoring double figures, it’s a good thing.”

DeMarcus McMillan led all Blue Devils in scoring putting up 21 points in the win. He also had five rebounds, four steals and one assist.

Andrew Rogers and Cedric Pierce also scored double figures with Rogers tallying 19 and Pierce adding 15. Rogers also recorded six blocks and five rebounds, while Pierce posted five steals, three assists, three rebounds and one block.

Blue Devils Fred Knight and Tony McAroy also had strong nights for ECHS with Knight recording nine points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists and McAroy netting seven points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds.

Peter Myers scored three points to go with one rebounds and Nashaun Hartley scored two points with two assists and one rebound.

Hayes recognized the strong points and weaknesses of his team.

“We only shot 49 percent from the free throw line,” he said. “That area of our game should improve as the seasons moves along. Our defense really did a good job against Flomaton. We only gave up 18 field goals and that’s due to our players’ commitment on that end of the court.”

The Blue Devils next game is Tuesday night at Hillcrest-Evergreen.Games tipoff at 4 p.m.