Head coach Anthony Hayes knew it would take a team effort from the Escambia County Blue Devils to get a win over the J.F. Shields Panthers in the Hub City Classic on Saturday and a team effort is what earned the ECHS their fourth win of the season.

The Blue Devils (4-5, 0-0) fought off a dreadful third quarter to pull out the 56-52 victory over the Panthers.

Hayes said he knew his team could get a win against Shields after a 10-point 79-69 loss earlier this season.

“I’m proud of our guys for coming back out and getting this win,” he said. “We’ve faced Shields once and felt we could win this game.”

Shields opened up the game the same way they closed their last meeting with ECHS by outscoring the Blue Devils 19-15 in the first quarter.

The Blue Devils bounced back in the second quarter though as they scored 15 points and used their defense to hold Shields to six to take the lead 30-25 at halftime.

Following halftime, the Blue Devils went ice cold as they only scored two points in the third quarter and allowed Shields to jump back out to a 10-point lead as the teams moved into the final period of play.

Leading 42-32 at the start of the fourth, Shields allowed the Blue Devils to creep back into the game.

ECHS chipped away at the deficit and eventually took back the lead as they outscored the Panthers 24-10 to pull out the 56-52 victory.

Hayes said free throws finally benefitted his team late in the game.

“Free throws have held us back all season,” he said. “Our players stepped up in the fourth quarter and made them when they counted against Shields.”

Blue Devil Fred Knight led ECHS with 15 points, while C.J. Pierce added 14 in the victory.

Hayes said Knight played strong on both ends of the court.

“Fred has begun to play aggressive on both ends of the court and this really helps our team go.”

Rico Stallworth was two points shy of double-digits scoring eight points for the Blue Devils, while DeMarcus McMillian recorded seven and Tony McAroy scored five points.

Andrew Rodgers (four points), Peter Myers (two points) and Dalvin Craft (one point) rounded out the Blue Devils’ scoring.

The Blue Devils next game is Friday at home against B.C. Rain. Games begin at 4:30 p.m.

Tigers 42

Blue Devils 40

Escambia County could not hold off the Monroe County Tigers’ fourth quarter push as they fell 42-40 in the Hub City Classic on Friday night.

The Blue Devils (3-5, 0-0) led through the third quarter, but could not stop the Tigers from sneaking away with the victory.

Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said the loss was one his team should not have been dealt.

“This is a game we feel we should have won,” Hayes said. “Basketball is a four-quarter game and Monroe County had a good fourth quarter and we couldn’t make the shots we needed.”

The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter outscoring Monroe County 13-8.

ECHS extended their lead in the second quarter scoring eight points to the Tigers’ seven to take a 21-15 lead into the break.

Following halftime, the Tigers found some life as they began to inch closer and closer to the lead.

In the third quarter, Monroe County outscored ECHS 12-11.

The Tigers’ persistence would be the difference in the fourth quarter as they pushed past the Blue Devils and into the lead as they outscored ECHS 15-8 to pull out the narrow victory.

Hayes said big shots proved to the breaking point for his team.

“The fourth quarter was the difference,” he said. “They connected on three-point shots when it mattered.”

Blue Devils guard C.J. Pierce led ECHS with 10 points in the loss.

Supporting Pierce’s effort were DeMarcus McMillian with six points, Fred Knight with five and T.C. Brown, Andrew Rodgers, Nashawn Hartley and Rico Stallworth all with four points.

Dalvin Craft finished with three points.

Hayes said his team has played a tough schedule thus far.

“We have played a rough schedule to this point of the season,” he said. “Four of our five losses have come to ranked opponents.”

Blue Devils 75

Hurricanes 50

The Escambia County Blue Devils stomped the Flomaton Hurricanes on Friday night whipping them 74-50 in Flomaton last Thursday night.

The Blue Devils (3-4, 0-0) played four quarters of dominant basketball as they controlled both ends of the floor.

Blue Devils head coach Anthony Hayes said is team is trying to build off of each win they earn.

“We hope to gain more momentum out of each win we get,” Hayes said. “We really want to try and focus on the little things each night.”

The Blue Devils pounded away on the Hurricanes in the first quarter as they pushed out to a comfortable 23-11 lead.

In the second quarter, the Hurricanes outscored the Blue Devils 16-15, but it didn’t dent the lead already mounted as ECHS went into halftime leading 38-27.

ECHS continued to blow past the Hurricanes in the second half as they mounted a larger lead over the home team.

In the third quarter, the Blue Devils scored 22 more points and stifled the Hurricanes only allowing them 12.

Leading 60-39, the Blue Devils kept their foot on the gas as they outscored Flomaton 14-11 and earned an easy 74-50 win.

Hayes said the return of C.J. Pierce helped ignite the Blue Devils’ offense as he finished with 26 points.

“C.J. was back for us after sitting out with a hip bruise,” he said. “He really shot the ball well for us against Flomaton.”

DeMarcus McMillian also finished with double-digits scoring 10 points in the victory.

T.C. Brown finished with nine points, while Nashawn Hartley scored seven and Dalvin Craft recorded six.

Blue Devils Tony McAroy Andrew Rodgers finished with five points each and Fred Knight, Rico Stallworth and Marshall Rolin all scored two.