Blue Devils survive Irwin's big comeback

Dec. 29—TIFTON — Had last Thursday's Tift County-Irwin County McDonald's Invitational basketball game been a rollercoaster ride, the 1st half would have been all hills for the Blue Devils. The fun part.

There they were, enjoying the hills and turns, McKyler Horne's second three-pointer giving them a 30-8 lead with 3:48 left in the 2nd quarter. But then came the 2nd half, where the ride got dark and Tift was stuck upside-down, watching that 22-point lead disappear. At 3:23 in the 4th, it was down to one measly, scraggly point at 43-42 after Irwin's Jaden White drilled a three from distance.

Fortunately, the lights came back on for the Devils. Tristan Boone scored, Kaden Lawson had two tremendous blocks within seconds of one another and Tift held on, 49-44.

The Blue Devils, now 6-4, were set to start 2024 against Coffee, then move into Region 1-6A games.

Head coach Tommy Blackshear took the wild 2nd half in stride. His is a young team which just got their most experienced player, Horne, back from injury and are getting him back into basketball shape.

"They hit those threes," Blackshear said, summarizing Irwin's comeback. "We just didn't play well in the 2nd half."

That Irwin never folded despite the huge deficit is something Blackshear's come to expect. Not just from Steven Green-coached Irwin teams, but from opponents in general.

"They're not going to quit," he said. "They went to the elite eight last year." Irwin has built a tradition, "Plus, everybody plays good against Tift. They want to beat us."

Tift picked right up where they left off from Thursday's Lanier County game, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first four minutes. TeShawn Bryant led off the scoring with a trey, with Corey Howard and Horne contributing as well.

Jaylen Martin helped the Indians cut the margin to 8-4. Tift went on a 6-0 run to end the quarter, capped by Fred White's fast break basket.

Scoring for the Blue Devils continued at a brisk pace in the 2nd, the 6-0 run extending to 19-2. J.J. Lamar knocked down two three-pointers and when Horne connected from deep at 3:48, he had personally outscored the visitors, 12-8.

Irwin found a bit of life near the end of the half, Zay Payne's two threes deep enough to be seen from Waterloo. It was still a Devils runaway at intermission, however, 33-16.

The Indians' slow march back into the game continued in the 3rd, mostly on free throws. Irwin was 8-of-12 at the stripe, with only two field goals over the eight minutes. That made a four-point dent in the deficit (41-28) as Tift had four free shots, plus field goals from Horne and Quay Bell.

Tift went nearly eight minutes without a make from the field, spilling from the 3rd period into the 4th. Meanwhile, Irwin was on fire. Payne's three-point range extended further, his two seeming to now stretch into Irwinville territory. Martin had an old-fashioned three-point play and when White's ball went through, the score was 43-42 with a very long 3:23 to play.

This woke up the Blue Devils on offense, Horne assisting Tristan Boone at 3:01 for a bit of relief at 45-42.

At this point,neither team had much gas left in the tank for offense with turnovers abundant for both squads. Lawson had two enormous blocks, one with his off-hand and the other making up a mile of territory to stop Martin from a sure layup that would have cut it to 45-44.

Bryant's jumper at 1:35 extended the lead to 47-42. Horne picked off a pass, threw ahead to White, who fed Bell on a fast break at 1:07. Bell sealed the deal seconds later, making up for a turnover to block Irwin from behind.

Eric Butler had Irwin's last points with 10 seconds left. Tift missed a last shot, but so did Irwin, the rebound falling into White's arms and he held it for the final two seconds.

Horne's 14 paced the Blue Devils. Twelve of his points were in the 1st half. Bryant picked up his fourth foul in the 3rd frame, but was able to stick around until the end for 10 points.

Martin finished with 15 points for the Indians, with Payne at 13.

In other Thursday games, Fitzgerald handed Lanier County another loss and Cook won over Crisp County, 54-48. Lanier head coach Chris Wade said he was missing a few players for the tournament and was confident in what the Bulldogs would do in region competition.

Blackshear thanked everyone for their attendance at the McDonald's Invitational. Irwin-Tift especially drew a large crowd to The Palace.