Basketball Game Preview: Tift County Blue Devils vs. Coffee Trojans

The Tift County Blue Devils will challenge the Coffee Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Coffee took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Tift County, who comes in off a win.

Tift County took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They put the hurt on Richmond Hill with a sharp 55-34 win. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 102nd, while the Wildcats are ranked 223rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Tift County can attribute much of their success to JJ Lamar, who posted 14 points along with five assists and five boards. Those five assists gave Lamar a new career-high. Marquavion Bell was another key player, putting up six points.

Meanwhile, Coffee was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss. They were outmatched by Lee County and fell 74-36. The game marked Coffee's lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Tift County will have to contain Jeremiah Bazell as he made an impact in Coffee's last game. He had nine points and five rebounds.

Tift County's victory was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 10-5. As for Coffee, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-13.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tift County has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Coffee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Tift County beat Coffee 60-49 in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Will Tift County repeat their success, or does Coffee have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.