Senior Myles White worked hard in the off season to get ready for Statesboro’s 2015-2016 basketball campaign.
    Apparently, the hard work payed off in the season opener against Swainsboro High School. White scored a team-high 24 points and helped lead the Blue Devils to a 61-49 victory.
    Coming off a Final Four appearance in the state playoffs last season, the Swainsboro Tigers struggled against a hyped up Statesboro team playing in front of their home crowd.
    The Blue Devils opened the game on a 13-0 run.
    “It was a big win for us. You always want to get that first game and we got it over a very athletic team in Swainsboro,” said head coach Lee Hill after the game. “We knew it was going to be tough but that big run in the first quarter was the key.”
    It appeared as though the Blue Devils would cruise to an easy victory, however, the Tigers began to battle back in the second quarter. The Tigers took the lead 18-17 with 5:37 left to play in the second quarter thanks to a 15-4 run to start the second.
    Statesboro came back and went on another run of their own, outscoring the Tigers 16-6.
    “That’s what I like to see,” Hill said. “We could have panicked but I saw a lot of growing up from our guys. They were patient and made the right shots. We were focused on running our offense and that’s what got us back into the lead.”
    Harvey and Jaylan Patrick had 10 points each while Michael Salomon added nine.
    The Blue Devils next game will be on the road at South Effingham Dec. 6.

Lady Devils roll
    Sometimes size matters, and that certainly was the case in the Lady Blue Devils 48-32 season-opening win over the Swainsboro Lady Tigers Tuesday night.
    SHS’s defense gave the Lady Tigers fits all night, holding their opponents to just 11 first half points.
    “We definitely had the size advantage on Swainsboro and that was the dominant force in the game,” SHS girls basketball coach Jeff Seier. “We were getting rebounds from the big girls and we were outworking them on the rebounds.”
    Stayshia Everett lead the Lady Blue Devils with 15 points on the night. Junior Dayonna Henry had a big game for SHS as well, scoring 13 points.
    Both teams started the game sluggish on offense, Everett scored four of the team’s first five points.
    Swainsboro couldn’t adjust to the Lady Blue Devils’ size down low. SHS would never relinquish the lead.
    Keisonna Rollins scored nine points for Statesboro while sophomore Victoria Harris had an eight-point performance.
    “We were a little off at times and we have to work hard in practice to become a better team,” Seier said.
    The Lady Blue Devils will have less than a week to savor their victory.  The team is scheduled to host their Ladies Night Out tournament, starting Nov. 23.

    Horace Holloman may be reached at (912) 489-9408.