MOULTRIE – In front of certainly the largest crowd to gather at William Bryant Court for Packer basketball in 2016-17, the boys team of one school and the girls squad of the other made some strong statements about their pending runs in the Region 1-7A tournaments.

For the girls series between Colquitt County High and Tift County High, it went from overtime to the fourth-quarter mercy rule as Rondesha Williams’ Lady Packers got two 20-point plus games in a 62-27 runaway. That split the series for the regular season.

The ruler of the court in the boys game, however, was Tift County forward P.J. Horne and his 26-point performance. It took until midway through the second quarter for the visiting Blue Devils of coach Eric Holland to make their first major run, but then the Packers could never catch back up and eventually fell 60-40.

Tift County swept the region series with Colquitt, and the win came one week after Lowndes High stunned the Blue Devils in Tifton to create a tie for first place in the league standings.

Also for Tift on Friday, guard Micah Johnson scored 11 points, and Horne’s front court partner Fred Lloyd – a Division I football prospect at wide receiver – added 10 points.

Colquitt County got 12 points each from DaNas Andrews and Tyrese King.

The Blue Devils began the game with five points in a row on the strength of Johnson’s play. He had the first basket then an inbound assist to Marquavious Johnson. The Packers experienced numerous bad breaks on the offensive end after finally cracking the scoreboard at 5:55.

Andrews’ stop-and-pop jumper after his defensive rebound tied the game at 5-all, Tift County going through some scoring issues of its own. A big issue was the Packer work on that defensive glass by both Andrews and Quentin Dopson.

Late in the opening quarter, Horne went baseline to break the tie. Afterwards, it was Packer backup Jarvis Christopher denying the basketball to Floyd on the break, leading to a takeaway. Point guard Cam Singletary then rebounded a missed 3, took on Horne inside the re-tied the score 7-7 heading into the second period.

With Colquitt County only down by one, 11-10, in the second, Tift County went on the game-breaking 7-0 run. The Blue Devils got four points in the quarter from Montae Terrell, including a put-back that capped off the spurt. Otherwise it was Tift pushing the ball up court quickly for quick shots, like the one laid in by Floyd.

Singletary’s steal prevented another Blue Devil transition move, and it led to a stick-back by Andrews that made the score 18-12.

However, Terrell’s block on Singletary’s penetration led to more fast-break Blue Devil scoring and a nine-point edge, 22-13. Horne then showed he’s the ultimate inside-outside threat first converting Lloyd’s pass in the paint and trailing a break to stick in 3 (27-15 TC).

This was part of another 7-0 Tift run in the second quarter, one ended by Nizarre Thompson’s 3 from a corner. Down as much as 14, the Packers narrowed it to a 10-point deficit, 32-22, at the half. The final points from from King’s steal at halfcourt and assist to Blake Dawson.

But in the third quarter, the Blue Devils poured in 10 straight beginning with Horne’s finishing slam after his block on defense. Later he outreached everyone for an offensive board and basket.

It may have been a 10-0 start for the visitors, but it was an 8-0 finish by the Packers, all in the last two minutes. Andrews nailed 3 at the 44-second mark, and King’s steal helped make it 42-30 with one period left.

Colquitt traded King’s 3 for Lloyd’s lob catch inside to trail by 11 early in the fourth. Three minutes in it was still an 11-point game from Christopher’s third-chance shot (48-37). That would be the last make from the floor by the Packers.

Lloyd’s put-back and Horne’s jam assisted by M. Johnson was part of a 6-1 run.

LADY PACKER ROLL

Diamond Hall scored 21 points Friday for Colquitt County’s girls basketball team. The Lady Packers had 21 points as a team before Tift County had any. Za’Nautica Downs by herself matched the Lady Blue Devil output in her 27-point effort, 10 coming on foul shots. Downs also had five steals and blocked two shots.

Tift County’s Joslyn Reyes, who made the tying 3-point shot two weekends ago to send that game into overtime in Tifton, led the visiting club with 13 points. Audrey McElhaney added eight.

Hall scored the first five points of the rematch, 2 on the offensive boards. Four of Williams’ starters scored in the first period, and the entire starting five stayed on the floor without foul trouble. Point guard Akia Sutton’s points came on a jumper, and with 12 seconds to go Hall added one more put-back.

It was 13-0 after eight minutes, Tift’s last three possessions ending on turnovers. Downs went end-to-end on a takeaway as Colquitt scored the first eight of the second quarter. Both of her blocks came in this period.

With the score 21-0, Dayana Chaney of Tift scored their first points at 4:58. Reyes followed connecting from 3-point land. Colquitt, though, was too much with its dribbling and quick shooting and tough shot making like Hall’s pivot at the foul line. Her one-on-one dribbling led to an assist to the returning Chyna Calhoun for 30-9.

Calhoun, a forward, just returned to the active roster after an injury suffered in the second Lady Packer game of the season back on Nov. 26. She only played during the second period, but Williams was certainly smiling about having her available again.

At the half, Colquitt led 34-9. The fifth Lady Packer starter, Abiyah Spencer, did not score in the first quarter but had seven in the game. She made a 3 early in the third period for 42-9.

Tift blocked some shots in the second half, got two 3-balls out of Reyes and two put–backs from McElhaney. Hall also made 2 more from the offensive boards, and Downs canned two treys to end the third at 53-21.