Basketball Recap: Escambia County Triumphs

After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Jackson, Escambia County was happy to have turned things around on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Hillcrest Jaguars, sneaking past 55-52. This was a revenge game for the Blue Devils: when they faced off against the Jaguars back in December of 2024, they had to take a 59-58 defeat.

When it comes to explaining why Hillcrest lost, don't look at J.T. Barlow. Despite the final result, he went 12 for 26 on his way to 32 points. Hillcrest is 17-8 when Barlow posts 30 or more points, but 1-2 otherwise. Jasiah Grace was another key player, putting up seven points.

Escambia County has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.0 points per game. As for Hillcrest, they moved to 18-10 with that loss, which also ended their three-game winning streak.

Escambia County has already played their next matchup, a 50-45 defeat against W.S. Neal on the 1st. As for Hillcrest, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, an 81-48 win against Flomaton on the 3rd.