MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County High basketball team got poor directions from the hotel to the Redan High gymnasium on Friday and arrived for its first-round state championship game just minutes before the scheduled tipoff.

And things went down hill from there.

The Packers found themselves behind quickly 10-0 and although they rallied to trail by just four at the half, they could not make a second-half run and fell to the Blue Raiders 36-31.

The point total was the team’s lowest of season. Colquitt’s previous low was 37 in the 42-37 loss to Tift County in Region 1-AAAAA tournament.

Asked about the low point total, Packers coach Kirven Davis said, “It seemed like the officials blew whistle every possession. There were a lot of fouls.”

Redan will advance to meet Newnan at 5:30 p.m. next Friday in the Macon Centreplex.

The Packers finish their season with a 14-14 record.

“I’m not disappointed at all,” said Davis, who took the Colquitt County boys to a rare state tournament berth in his first season as head coach.

“I thought we did showed a lot of guts. We did a good job.”

The Packers were led in scoring by senior and four-year varsity player Jeremy DeBruce, who had 12 points.

Andrew Wallace had eight, Antwan Tuff had seven and James Trimble had two.

The Packers were trying to win their first state tournament game since 1953 when they went to Stone Mountain on Friday.

The Packers last went to the state tournament in 2002, but were ousted by Lovejoy in the first round.

The Packers will lose seven seniors from the 2005-2006 team: Tuff, DeBruce, Trimble, Kamari Peterson, Ronald Wilson, Amar Parikh and Corey Goss.

Tuff was a first-team All-Region selection this season. Trimble was named to the second team.

It was not a good night for Region 1-AAAAA teams on Friday.

In Tifton, Tift County, the No. 2 team from Region 1-AAAAA, fell to Douglass High 62-60 in double-overtime.

The Blue Devils were the regular-season champions, but lost in the tournament championship game.

Douglass advances to meet Newnan, which eliminated Groves on Friday, 72-61.

Lowndes, the No. 4 team from Region 1-AAAAA, was eliminated by Region 2-AAAAA champion Tri-Cities 78-49. Tri-Cities advances to play Beach, which defeated Starr’s Mill 52-41 on Friday.

The only Region 1-AAAAA to advance on Friday was region tournament champion Houston County.

The Bears knocked off Region 2-AAAAA’s No. 4 team Lithonia 81-79.

Houston County will meet Savannah at 5:30 p.m. next Thursday in a second-round game. Savannah defeated Fayette County 93-88 in overtime on Saturday.