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Tourney time for SHS
121812 BKG SHS HOOPS 01
Statesboro's Shanikwa Buie celebrates after the Blue Devils hold off Beach for a close victory during Tuesday's game.

Statesboro (8-1) vs. Albany (4-2)
7 p.m., Today
U-Save-It Tournament, Albany

Lady Blue Devils (7-4) vs. Choctaw (Fla.) (7-0)
7 p.m., Today
Chick-fil-A Brawl, Warner Robins

    School is out for the holidays, but both the boys and girls squads at Statesboro are still in action and on the hunt for an early Christmas present.
    Both teams hit the road today to begin holiday tournaments. The boys travel to Albany for the U-Save-It tournament while the girls head up to Warner Robins for the Chick-fil-A Bear Brawl.
    The SHS boys (8-1) will square off against Albany tonight at 7 p.m. while the Lady Blue Devils (7-4) take on undefeated Choctaw out of Florida.
    For the boys, this weekend will provide a chance to go up against three days worth of top-notch competition. Perennial powers such as Manchester, Westover and Dougherty dot the tournament field.
    “Every year, we make it a point to go to this tournament,” said SHS coach Lee Hill. “There aren’t too many other places where we can go to find that many quality opponents to play. A lot of those teams are used to winning and that’s the kind of teams that we want to test ourselves against.”
    Although it’s still early in the season, the Devils’ hot start already has them looking forward to the end of the regular season.
    Hiccups in the region tournament cost the Devils a good state playoff seed in 2010 and kept them out of the state playoffs altogether last season. With a chance to make plenty of noise in the reconfigured Region 3-AAAA this season, the Devils are looking forward to getting some experience in a tournament setting.
    “It’s going to test our depth,” said Hill. “Just like in the region tournament, we have to be ready to play our best a few nights in a row. The atmosphere will be great, too. We’ve got two games at Albany High, where we know there will be a bunch of folks, and then a game at the civic center.”
    The tournament could set the stage for Statesboro to blossom as a team to watch out for.
    Guards Yakeem Coleman and Zaquavian Smith entered the year as experienced players to watch out for, but plenty of teammates are stepping up to join the ranks.
    Jonathan Taylor and Alex Simmons have developed into a frontcourt duo that can hold their own against even the best opponents and O’Aaron Ware has quickly become another big scoring threat at guard.
    For the Lady Devils, the Bear Brawl provides a few more games to grow before they embark on their region schedule.
    The SHS girls have gotten off to a good start, but are still trying to find their best lineups and rotations with so many new faces contributing to this season’s team. There have been plenty of wins, but there is no doubt that this season’s Lady Blue Devils are less dominant and they have already succumbed to a few opponents from season passed that were all too happy to exact some revenge.
    Tuesday night’s win over a talented Beach squad was a step in the right direction and coach Jeff Seier is looking for more of the same this weekend.
    “We’re still getting better with each game,” said Seier. “There are a lot of very good teams coming up for us in this tournament. Honestly, I’m not sure how many of these tough games we’re going to win. Right now, we’re still focused on getting to where we want to be.”
    This weekend will mark the last of the tune-up games for the Lady Devils — and the final games of 2012 — as they begin region play on Jan. 4 against Liberty County.
    The SHS boys will return home for some more action before the new year as they host the Gentlemen’s Classic from Dec. 26-28.

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