Some red-hot shooting built an early lead for No. 7 Statesboro and the Blue Devils held off some stiff competition from Windsor Forest Saturday night to notch s 64-53 victory and record a sweep at the Devil’s Den.
    After missing its first shot of the night, Statesboro connected on its next eight attempts from the field. Leading the early charge for the Devils (16-3, 2-0 Region 3-AAAA) were Zaquavian Smith (23 points) and Yakeem Coleman (6 points).
    Down the stretch, Statesboro leaned on sophomore forward Alex Simmons (13 points, 10 rebounds) to help finish the job.
    Statesboro coach Lee Hill was pleased to see that there was no letdown from his team just one night after defeating No. 6 Wayne County in a region showdown.
    “I was a little concerned about playing a non-region game right after last night,” said Hill. “That was a big win against Wayne County, but we got ourselves refocused and beat a good Windsor Forest team.”
    The Devils wasted no time in showing just how ready for the game they were.
    The Knights (5-9) took a quick 4-0 lead, but Smith lit the fuse with a deep 3. He then stole the ball on the press and finished with an emphatic two-handed jam to put SHS in front.
    Following Smith’s lead, Coleman connected on a 3 and O’Aaron Ware added a jumper. Smith connected on another 3 and then, following a steal and a pass off of the backboard from Ware, put down another huge dunk.
    When Simmons hit a short jumper on the next possession, the Devils were 8-for-9 from the field and all five starters had scored in the first 5:31 of play.
    “I think that was easily the best quarter that we’ve played so far this season,” said Hill.
    A team effort from the Knights — no one scored more than nine points on the night — kept Windsor Forest in the game, and big 3’s from Tremayne Trawick and Davell Collins in the second quarter kept the them within 35-28 at halftime.
    In the second half, Simmons did much of the heavy liftin.
    As quickly as both teams began the game, it was tough sledding for both offenses in the second half.
    Simmons recorded the first points of the third quarter at the 5:13 mark
    Two more inside jumpers and three free throws from Simmons stretched the Blue Devils lead into double digits. A pair of quick buckets from the Knights threatened to swing the momentum, but Simmons slammed home a missed jumper from Smith to give Statesboro a 46-36 lead after three quarters and account for every one of the Devils’ points in the period.
    “(Simmons) is really developing nicely,” said Hill. “He’s gotten to where we can depend on him and he can carry us a little every night. We just kept feeding him inside in that third quarter and he showed what he can do.”
    The Devils couldn’t quite deliver the knockout punch in the final period, but solid defense ensured that their lead was never in danger. A midrange jumper from Collins got the Knights within 51-41 with just over four minutes to play, but back-to-back buckets for Smith left Statesboro with plenty of breathing room as the final minutes ticked away.

Lady Devils take 6th straight
    For a team with plenty of early-season question marks, the Statesboro girls look like they have hit their stride.
    The Lady Blue Devils won their sixth consecutive game Saturday night with a convincing 54-35 drubbing of Windsor Forest.
    Keyera Whitaker led the way for Statesboro (13-5, 2-0 Region 3-AAAA) with 15 points while Shanikwa Buie added 11 more. Tanice Johnson made it a trio of double-digit scorers as she also recorded 11.
    Ty Reynolds was the only member of the Lady Knights (0-9) to reach double-digits, leading all scorers with 17..
    “We set a goal after our Christmas tournament,” said SHS coach Jeff Seier. “It’s pretty simple. We’re just trying to win every one from here on out. We still have some growing to do, but we’re getting better.”
    Windsor Forest came out strong, sticking with the Devils in the opening minutes.
    The Knights were able to find some open looks and get to the foul line, but were quickly worn down by Statesboro’s high-pressure defense and quick tempo.
    With Statesboro leading 17-13 after one quarter, the Blue Devils repeatedly broke out behind the Knights after defensive rebounds, providing for plenty of uncontested layups.
    The Devils notched the first 11 points of the period and entered halftime with a comfortable 30-17 advantage.
    “We aren’t quite where we can press all of the time,” said Seier. “But when we dialed it up tonight, it worked for us. We got some turnovers and played well in transition.”
    Coming out of the locker room for the second half of action, the Devils left no doubt as they quickly blew the game open.
    Whitaker began the scoring with a driving layup before Johnson grabbed a steal and went the length of the court for an easy bucket.
    Buie and Caja Williams helped the Devils continue to pull away as Buie made a pair of baskets underneath and Williams recorded one layup in transition, then assisted Keyonna Gusby on another after Williams picked the pocket of Reynolds.
    In all, the Devils scored the first 14 points of the second half and the game was already well in hand when Reynolds scored Windsor Forest’s first points of the third quarter with just 48 seconds to go.
    Seier emptied his bench in the final quarter and the Statesboro reserves were able to maintain the comfy lead while racking up some valuable minutes and creating depth for the region schedule, which resumes for the Devils next week.
    Both SHS squads get a few days off before returning to region action next Friday as they travel to South Effingham.
   
    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.