The Statesboro Blue Devils and Portal Panthers squared off Tuesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse for the first time since 2009 and despite it being 14 years later the results were much the same. The Lady Blue Devils had little trouble dispatching the Panthers by a final of 59-29, while the Portal boys helped earn a split by knocking off the Blue Devils by a count of 60-56.
The boy’s game went back and forth throughout with things eventually being settled at the free throw line where the Blue Devils were just 3-14 while the Panthers hit 25 of their 29 attempts.
“We have a veteran group, and that is what you expect from them,” said Portal coach Jeff Brannen. “This was a great atmosphere and an exciting game. I thought we had moments where we looked really good, and other times when Statesboro’s defense got to us a little. These are the kind of games that will make us even tougher. Statesboro has a good team and I’m just happy our guys were able to get it done tonight.”
Ironically enough it was fouls against the Panthers that forced coach Brannen to sit Amir Jackson who picked up 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the game. Statesboro turned to senior guard Raylin Grant for scoring as he had 15 points in the first half.
“I thought Raylin had a really good start,” said Statesboro coach Keith Legree. “I thought we did a pretty good job of making things tough on them, but the free throw line really told the story. We have to be better, especially in a close game. Those are the things that will beat you every time.”
Brannen inserted Jackson back in the second quarter and immediately Elijah Coleman spotted him on a fast break for an ally-oop which brought the crowd to their feet and gave Portal a 22-19 lead. Grant quickly quieted the Portal crowd with a corner three to tie the game at 22-22. David Thomas hit a three with time winding down to give Portal a 29-26 lead. Grant was then fouled taking a three pointer at the buzzer, but missed all three free throws to leaver the score 29-26 at the half.
The second half saw the two teams go back-and-forth throughout. Grant would lead the Blue Devils with 20 points while Camdyn Wilkerson added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Portal would be paced by Amir Jackson with 22 points and Joseph Thomas with 13 points.
Late in the game Wilkerson would hit a layup to tie the game at 53-53. Jackson would answer with a layup to give Portal a 55-53 lead. On their next possession Jackson came up with a steal and went all the way for a windmill dunk which brought the Panther crowd to their feat as Portal took a 57-53 lead with less than two minutes to play.
Statesboro had a chance to tie the game with just over 37 seconds left but Ja’Caiden Cone missed a runner and Kam Mikell’s putback was blocked by Jackson. Jackson then hit two more free throws to ice the game.
In the girl’s game Statesboro stormed out to an 18-3 lead as Alyssa Staten hit on a three-point play early in the second quarter. The Panthers would have their problems once again with turnovers and Statesboro took a 28-10 halftime lead. The second half wouldn’t get much better for the Panthers as Statesboro outscored them 31-19 as they got some younger players a chance to play late.
“I think coach Nicole Newton is doing a really good job with the Portal girls,” said Statesboro coach Marty Holder. “Our girls took this game very seriously and I feel like we turned it up defensively. This is our third straight game in which we have won by a significant margin and it has been because of our defense. We have made that a priority and I hope this continues for us.”
As for Newton it was a bittersweet return to Hanner Fieldhouse for the former Georgia Southern Eagle.
“I had a chance to kind of soak it in and walk around the place before the game,” Newton said. “There are a lot of great memories for me here. Unfortunately, things didn’t go too well out there tonight for our team. I think we let the moment be a little too much for us and we struggled again holding onto the ball. I hope we can learn something from this and get back to work and try and get better.”
Statesboro was led by Alyssa Staten with 22 points and 20 rebounds while Reya Johnson added 17 points. Portal was led by Raashonda Khalil with nine points and Glen Lowe with eight points.
Next up for Portal they will travel to Evans Saturday for a 6:00 start. Next up for Statesboro they will travel to Richmond Hill Friday for a 6:00 start.
