Preview: Tift County Blue Devils vs. Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets
The Tift County Blue Devils are on the road again on Tuesday and plays the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets at 8:30 p.m. on February 13th. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Tift County struggled with threes on Thursday (Houston County had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Tift County took a serious blow against Houston County, falling 79-38. Tift County was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 41-17.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kaden Lawson, who scored seven points. Another player making a difference was Cordell Nelson, who scored four points.
Meanwhile, Thomas County Central pushed their score all the way to 57 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 70-57 to Houston County. While losing is never fun, Thomas County Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 284th, while Houston County is ranked 112th).
Like Tift County, Thomas County Central lost despite seeing results from several players. Abe Smith led the charge by dropping a double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds. Smith is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Colby Mullinax was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks.
Tift County's loss dropped their record down to 13-12. As for Thomas County Central, they dropped their record down to 11-14 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home.
Tuesday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Tift County have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Thomas County Central struggles in that department as they've made 38.1% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Tift County couldn't quite finish off Thomas County Central in their previous matchup back in January and fell 41-39. Can Tift County avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
