Statesboro High swept a pair of games Tuesday against the visiting Coffee County Trojans. The girls breezed to a 67-44 victory to improve to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in region play. The boys battled through to a 49-47 win to improve to 14-3 and 5-1 in region play.
The Blue Devils had a comfortable 39-30 lead after halftime and held Coffee to just five points in the third quarter. The Trojans stormed back late as the Blue Devils struggled from behind the arc where they were just 4-18. Statesboro was able to hang on, but head coach Keith Legree was frustrated with the way they played at the end of the game.
“We were playing well, and then we started falling in love from behind the 3-point line,” LeGree said. “We made a few turnovers and forgot what got us the lead in the first place. We were doing a good job in the paint and then just started jacking up some 3-pointers. If they are falling I can understand, but we weren’t hitting and we let them back in the game. We have to remember what is working and continue that or we will get beat.”
Statesboro was led by D.J. Brown with 14 points and Kam Mikell with 11.
“Kam and D.J. have really stepped up as we have been without a starter and one of our top scorers,” LeGree said. “D.J. has been hitting from outside and I have played Kam every minute in our last three games as he has been a star who has been a little under the radar. Some of the things Kam does for us don’t always show up in the box score.”
The Statesboro Lady Blue Devils were able to snap a two-game losing streak with a 67-44-win Tuesday against Coffee County. Head coach Marty Holder was frustrated with the way the Blue Devils played in their 45-36 loss at Bradwell and their 51-44 loss at Ware County, so he shook up the starting lineup and tried a few players in different positions.
“We struggled in our last two games and just felt like we needed to try something different,” said coach Marty Holder. “I told them after the game I was happy they trusted the vision we have. We started Maggie O’Neil at guard and she had five 3-pointers. We also moved Demia Hartwell to the four position and she came through as well. I feel like these moves will get us ready for the region tournament.”
Another concern Holder has had is the Blue Devil players counting on center Alyssa Staten to get all the rebounds and be the only player scoring in the post.
“Last night Alyssa was doing well, but I took her out just to see how the team would respond,” Holder said. “They actually did well and that is something we have to be ready for. You never know if she was to get in foul trouble, I don’t want everyone standing around lost because she is out. Kennedy Myers came in and gave us some good minutes. We have to be ready for a stretch when she may be out for whatever reason and I liked the way they responded.”
Reya Johnson went over the 1,000-point mark in the game and finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Staten led the way with 19 points and 13 rebounds while O’neal added 16 and Gerziya Haggray had 12 points. Up next Statesboro is at Swainsboro Saturday for a 6:00 start.
