Blue Devils roll past Alcovy in scrimmage

Published 3:00 pm Sunday, November 4, 2018

TIFTON – Tift County’s basketball Blue Devils roared into action Saturday afternoon with an easy scrimmage victory over visiting Alcovy, 65-50.

Behind the hot shooting of Marquavious Johnson, Tift scored 20 in the first quarter and were never threatened.

Johnson scored the initial basket of the night, a three-pointer, 1:55 into the game. When Tyree Marshall launched Tift’s second three-pointer two minutes later, the Devils had a 10-8 lead and weren’t headed again. Tift led 20-11 at the quarter.

With offense clicking to start the game, the defense established itself in the second period. McKenzie Jackson raised the advantage to 22-11, but Alcovy responded with a basket at 5:16. It turned out to be the Tigers’ last points of the half.

Tift gave Alcovy few shot opportunities and when they finally made their way to the free throw line, the Tigers fared no better. A lane violation wiped out one try, then they proceeded to miss five straight from the stripe. In the meantime, the lead swelled from nine points to 24, the last three coming on Johnson’s buzzer-beater.

Jatorion Warren opened the third period with a slam dunk and when Johnson assisted him on a shot at 5:15, the score was 43-15 and the margin was at its apex.

Young Devils, who had rotated in and out of the lineup for the first three quarters, all but took over the fourth. Jaruis Johnson had a free throw and basket to close out scoring.

Tift’s success came on teamwork. Marquavious Johnson and Marshall showed the chemistry of being longtime teammates, moving the ball with ease and assisting teammates at every turn. Azaria Smith, while not scoring, had some big defensive plays, including a first quarter outlet pass to Jackson on a steal.

Alcovy had travel delays that postponed the start of the game, but that did not dim the amount of Blue Devils faithful who came to see their first hoops action in nearly nine months.