Hillcrest-Evergreen wanted it a little bit more than Escambia County as the Jaguars won 76-68 in a regular-season contest tonight at Cornell Torrence Gymnasium in Atmore.

The Blue Devils were looking for revenge over the HEHS after falling 86-83 over the holidays at the T.R. Miller Invitational. However, forcing late turnovers and good play on the boards were the differences for the Evergreen team.

“They wanted it more than Atmore,” ECHS coach Erin Straughn said. “They were way more aggressive than us. They had more free throws and attempts than us. We’ve got to do a better job on the boards. We’ve got to do a better job taking care of the ball.”

Straughn said the guys know what they need to improve on and will get right to work on correcting those errors at practice tomorrow.

The Blue Devils (8-5) led throughout the first three periods.

Kobe Bradley drove the baseline and got a layup to help the Jaguars take their first lead of the game at the start of the fourth period.

Malik Brown answered soon after for the Blue Devils on the front-end of a pair of free throws, but the Jaguars started to peel away and take a lead they’d never give up for the rest of the game.

The Jaguars did a good job of protecting the glass on both ends of the court. Ryan Nettles grabbed plenty of rebounds and put backs, and Christopher Lett drained a statement slam dunk to give HEHS a 61-55 lead with just over 5 minutes left.

Brown got a good block on the defensive end, and Devon Robinson received a bloody nose, but would return later in the fourth with less than 3 minutes to go.

HEHS increased its lead to 67-59 on a layup on the other end after a turnover by Jarrett Taylor.

Robinson and Triston Knott shot in 3 pointers late, but that didn’t matter as the Jaguars had a wide advantage.

Part of the Blue Devils’ success is their rhythm.

Straughn said the guys got out of rhythm a little bit during the game.

“We’ve got to do a little bit better at that in practice,” he said. “We’ve got to play at more consistent speed and take care of the ball for the whole game. We’re playing in spurts.”

ECHS played a half-court game to start the second half, and the Jaguars outscored the Blue Devils 20-13 in the third period to turn the game around.

In the second period, Ladarious Parker found Nettles for a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 33-24. Later, HEHS cut the lead to 6 points with 4:07 left in the first half at 33-27.

Lett got a 3-point play and the Jaguars got some needed points on transition.

ECHS lead 41-33 at halftime.

The Blue Devils started out on a 5-0 run after Knott found Lue Williams for an easy bucket, and a 3-point play.

Williams and Knott drained a pair of 3-pointers late in the first period, and ECHS lead 28-15 after the opener.

Robinson led the Blue Devils with 21 points. Knott chipped in 18, and Williams contributed with 10.

Bradley led the Jaguars with 19 points, Lett had 17 and Nettles put in 16.

Next week, ECHS faces W.S. Neal, Monroe County and Andalusia in area action.

Straughn said the loss is good for the players going into next week.

“It’s really good to get the loss early and let them know how it feels,” he said. “I think our guys get it. I think they know we played better than Hillcrest.”