MOULTRIE – With his team down by a point and inbounding the ball on the Colquitt County baseline with 2.9 seconds remaining on Tuesday, Tift County coach Tommy Blackshear knew the Packers were not going to let his team get the ball inside for a layup to win the game.
“We changed what we wanted to do two or three times, but decided to try to get one of our better shooters a look,” Blackshear said.
And it worked.
Quay Bell got the inbounds pass and immediately launched a 3-pointer from the left corner.
His aim was true and the large contingent of fans from Tifton erupted in joy after the basket gave the Blue Devils a 48-46 Region 1-6A victory.
The loss was an especially disappointing one for the Packers, who were buoyed throughout the evening by a raucous home crowd.
Colquitt had lost to the Blue Devils 47-43 in Tifton on January 17 in another game in which they held the lead late in the fourth quarter.
The Packers still sit atop the region standings with a 5-2 record, but the Blue Devils are now 4-2 with games at Richmond Hill on Friday and at Lowndes on Saturday.
Both the Wildcats and Vikings have losing region records.
And Tift, now 15-5 overall, has won six in a row.
The Blue Devils took a 37-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
But four Colquitt County 3-pointers, including one by Marcus Moore with 3:37 left, put the Packers up 46-43.
Tift pulled to within one point on a jam by 6-foot-8 Kaden Lawson with 2:47 left, but those were the game’s last points before Bell beat the buzzer.
Tift played the final 2:31 without leading scorer JJ Lamar, who fouled out after scoring 15 points.
“That hurt us a little bit,” Blackshear said. “He’s our playmaker and our scorer.”
The Packers had several opportunities to build on its lead in the final 1:22, but could not convert.
They also appeared to have a chance at the win when Tift’s Ben Hill missed a short jumper with under seven seconds left, but the Blue Devils maintained possession, called timeout and set up Bell.
“I have to give coach Harden and his squad some credit,” Blackshear said. “They made some tough 3s (in the fourth quarter), four of six I think. We were very, very fortunate to win this game. They out-shot us.
“But we always seem to have tough games with Colquitt.”
Lamar and Lawson, who had 13, led the Blue Devils in scoring.
Cardell Nelson had nine, Bell added seven and Dai’jon Hayes had four.
The Packers got 30 of their 46 points from shots beyond the arc.
Kanilyn Jones led the Packers with 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
Cason Harden had 16 points, including four 3-pointers, two of which he sank in the fourth quarter.
Moore had 13 points, nine on three 3-pointers.
Those three were the only Packers who scored.
Colquitt is 13-4 overall as they prepare as they prepare to face Lowndes (2-3 in the region and 12-8 overall) on Friday.
The Packers defeated the Vikings 43-39 on January 7 at Lowndes.
Colquitt also will be home on Saturday to play host to Camden County. The girls game will tip off at 5 p.m.
The Packers won their first meeting with Camden County, winning 49-42 on January 3, in Kingsland.