Blue Devils fall to Bay Minette

Published 10:16 am Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Blue Devil Dalvin Craft pulls down a rebound against the Northview Chiefs last season.|File Photo

Despite another strong performance from guard Cedric Pierce, the Escambia County Blue Devils suffered their second consecutive loss on Saturday falling 67-62 to the Baldwin County Tigers.

Pierce led the Blue Devils in the loss by posting 26 points. He was also a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.

The Blue Devils (1-2, 0-0) hung tough with the Tigers throughout the game, but could not over come the lead Baldwin County mounted in the second and third quarters.

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ECHS opened the game with a good first quarter as they outscored Baldwin County 16-13, but fell behind in the second quarter.

The Tigers clawed into the lead in the second period as they put 20 points to the Blue Devils’ 13 and took a 32-29 lead into the locker room.

Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes acknowledged his team’s problems of the second quarter.

“We started out strong in this game, but in the second quarter, we seemed to get away from what we talked about doing against Bay Minette,” Hayes said. “I give Bay Minette a lot of credit for how well they played against us.”

Following halftime, the Tigers continued to control the tempo of the game by extending their lead.

In the third quarter, the teams battled up and down the court with the Tigers outscoring the Blue Devils 16-14.

Facing a six-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils put their best foot forward to try and push back into the game.

ECHS was able to outscore the Tigers 19-18, but time ran short on their comeback attempt with Bay Minette pulling off the 67-62 win.

Hayes said he was proud of his team’s performance, and added he was happy to have the rest of his team back from football.

“Our team played hard and shot the ball well,” he said. “This was also the first action for our football players. I inserted a few of them into the game for situational purposes. They will learn quickly what we are doing and they should make us a stronger team in the near future.”

Supporting Pierce’s performance in the loss were Fred Knight with 10 points, Demarcus McMillian with seven, Dalvin Craft with five, Pete Myers and Tony McAroy with four, Nashawn Hartley with three and Andrew Rogers with two points.

With the Blue Devils having a full roster, Hayes knows where his team needs better focus.

“In our two losses, we have been outrebounded on the offensive glass and that’s an area we need to address,” he said. “Our guys are playing good, team basketball though and we look to gel into a strong group.”

The Blue Devils next home game is scheduled for Nov. 30 against T.R. Miller.

Games tipoff at 4:30 p.m.