When it’s all said and done, Statesboro may come away as the basketball champions of Bulloch County.
    That meaning their boys and girls teams may combine to have the highest seeds of any other in Bulloch County come state playoff time. The boys are eyeing their first region title since 2013 as the No. 1 seed in the region tournament, while the girls could win the most games in a single season since they last went to the playoffs in 2012 and are currently the three seed.
    Both teams took very different paths to get where they are today, especially the boys considering how the season started for them. After a 69-60 season-opening win against Stephenson, the injury bug bit the Blue Devils in the neck and had them infected for nearly a month.
    “It was really hard to see things shake out they way they did, especially after the great summer we had,” said head coach Lee Hill. “In my whole career I’ve never had this kind of injury luck.”
    Cameron Harvey, Jarquez Cone, Daniel Cooper, Tray Burns and Chris Hill all were out for some point of time for Statesboro — that’s three of the five starters who beat New Hampstead to claim the No. 1 seed last Friday. Following their win over Stephenson the Blue Devils would drop six games in a row — culminating in a 62-61 overtime loss against Effingham County, where Statesboro would lose on a NBA-range, desperation three at the buzzer.
    Even at 1-6 with a couple of big tournaments still ahead of them, Hill’s squad never had their confidence shaken. After going 2-1 at the U-Save-It tournament in Albany with Harvey leading the way — being named to the all-tournament team — Statesboro would get their backcourt duo of Cooper and Burns back healthy before the Gentleman’s Classic.
    At full strength, Statesboro swept away the likes of FPCA, Glenn Hills and Glynn Academy — who now have a combined winning percentage of .710 — by a combined margin of 25 points. Since then Statesboro’s won ten of their last twelve games, including a 7-1 mark in region.
    “Getting Tray (Burns) back was when we really started clicking, because the point guard position is so important in this game,” Hill said. “After beating those teams I knew we would be okay.”
    Now Statesboro stands as the No. 1 seed in region, matched up against the winner of the play-in game between Wayne County (10-14, 3-5) and South Effingham (8-16, 1-7). Wayne County swept the Mustangs in the regular season in double-digit wins, seemingly setting up a rubber match between Wayne County and the Blue Devils.
    Statesboro’s only region loss came to Wayne in Jesup by a 60-57 win. However Statesboro won their side of the home-and-home in a 64-39 blowout. As to what exactly happened in that game, Hill thinks it was more of a fluke than anything.
    “We missed a lot of easy shots early on and they had one of their better shooting nights,” Hill said. “Even down 14 we were able to come back and tie up. But that wound up being a good wake up call for us.”
    Presuming the tournament goes chalk, it would set up another game between New Hampstead and the Blue Devils. Both teams no matter the result would be guaranteed a home playoff game, although Statesboro would prefer a region title in addition to the home playoff game.
    As for the Lady Blue Devils they didn’t have to deal with the tumultuous start, and if anything they’ve been the most consistent team in Bulloch County this season. Jeff Seier’s squad holds a strong point differential of +260 and never lost two games in a row — the only team in Bulloch County who can make such a claim.
    “It shows some consistency in our program that I would even say surprised me,” said girls head coach Jeff Seier. “Or maybe we just scheduled well. Either way I’m proud.”
    A twist of fates have actually found the ladies in a favorable spot. Until Monday Statesboro was supposed to be matched up with Ware County — a team who beat them twice this season by a combined 29 points. Wayne County was initially supposed to host as the women’s number one seed, however after it was deemed the Yellow Jackets played an illegal player (JV players can’t play more than six combined quarters between their two games) they had their hosting privileges yanked.
    Now Ware County will host the tournament as the No. 1 seed on the ladies side, forcing Statesboro into a better matchup with Wayne County. The Lady Blue Devils are 1-1 vs. Wayne this season and actually hold the point differential advantage at +12. The change in fates may tack on 50 more minutes to the drive, but a better shot at the finals may just be worth it.
    “We like our chances against Wayne, but I think we can beat Ware too,” Seier said. “Our mindset is to be a little more aggressive than those teams this time out.” 
    Even while Statesboro is guaranteed a playoff spot, in order to avoid traveling they’ll have to find a way to beat Wayne on Thursday. The hot-shooting Robins sisters of Lacy and Amber will need to be at the top of their games. Freshman Lacy has been one of the best players in the county as a two-way guard, while her older sister Amber is a serious spot-up shooting threat.
    For those wanting to make the trek to Jesup, Statesboro’s ladies will play first on tonight against Wayne at 3:30, with the boys capping things off at 8:00 against the winner of the aforementioned play-in game.