BROOKLET — After breaking a losing streak that had spanned over a year in its season opener, the Southeast Bulloch boys are getting used to winning.
    The Yellow Jackets (2-2, 1-1 Region 1-AAA) raced out to a 43-25 halftime lead and scored the first 16 points of the second half en route to a 79-40 win over Islands Tuesday night.
    DeVante Tremble, Preston White and Matthew MacBride all reached double-digits for the Jackets, scoring 22, 16, and 11, respectively.
    In all, 11 different Yellow Jackets registered points.
    “It’s always nice to get a lot of guys into the game,” said SEB coach John Page. “We thought that we had a little more depth (than Islands) and wanted to cycle guys in and out to keep up the tempo. Everybody was able to go out there and do their part.”
    The Sharks (1-3, 0-2) kept things close early as Casey Hughes scored eight of his 12 points in the first quarter. Hughes outburst erased an early SEB lead, but a long 3 from Tremble beat the first quarter buzzer and gave the Jackets a 17-12 advantage.
    Islands hurt its cause in the second quarter as the high-pressure SEB defense racked up the fouls, but the Sharks couldn’t convert on the line. Islands connected on just 3 of 12 free throws in the quarter as the Jackets started to extend their lead.
    SEB blew the lid off in the third quarter as the offense heated up and the defense turned its early fouls into turnovers and easy points.
    MacBride and White combined to score the Jackets’ first 10 points of the half while the Sharks struggled to even cross midcourt.
    “We really executed well,” said Page. “Once we started forcing turnovers instead of fouling, we really got into a good rhythm and were able to pull away.”
    SEB was able to rattle off the first 16 points of the half and build a 59-25 advantage before Marlon Bowen finally broke through for the Sharks over four minutes into the period.
    The Jackets continued to push ahead and produced turnover after turnover, coasting to a 67-32 lead after three quarters and putting the mercy clock in action in the fourth quarter.

Lady Jackets prevail
    The SEB girls also evened their record to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Region 1-AAA as they took a 48-39 victory over Islands in Tuesday evening’s opening matchup.
    “We’re starting to gel together,” said SEB coach Johnny Miller. “We’re finally starting to get all of our girls back and healthy. Getting a region win is big for us, and hopefully we can move forward from there.”
    SEB’s Jasmine Roberts stole the show with 21 points as Gloria Lingle pitched in 11 for the Jackets.
    Taylor Baham led the Sharks (0-4, 0-2) with 17 points.
    The Jackets took control early and hardly slowed down in running up a 24-16 halftime advantage and leading 36-27 after the third quarter.
    Islands closed to within 39-32 midway through the final quarter, but a baseline jumper from Roberts and a deep 3 rattled home by Lingle, regained a comfortable lead for the Jackets as they ran down the final minutes for the win.
    The SEB boys and girls return to action Friday as they host Pierce County in another region matchup.

Ming leads SEB JV to win
    The Islands' junior-varsity squad fell at Southeast Bulloch, 54-31, Tuesday afternoon.
    Marquell Ming led the JV Yellow Jackets with 12 points.

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.