Defenses sparkle with Tift taking two from Valdosta

Dec. 18—TIFTON — Tommy Blackshear said he has not seen many games like the one in front of him Saturday, Dec. 17. Tift won a hard-nosed, defensive, 32-28 battle over Valdosta, one whose final minute featured more twists and turns than a mystery movie.

Earlier in the night, the Lady Devils won a 59-51 final over Valdosta that was not as close as the eight-point margin. Tift built up a 14-0 lead as the Lady 'Cats did not score until 6:35 in the 2nd quarter.

There were no shutout quarters in the boys game, but all were low-scoring.

Defense has been the story of Tift's young season. "That's what we've been having to do," said Blackshear. He's waiting for the offense to click. "The defense let us hang around."

The Blue Devils (4-2) scored 18 points through three quarters. That would be a sure defeat in most children's recreation games. Because of their defense, however, Tift was still very much in the contest.

Tift's boys trailed all the way against the Wildcats, not taking their first lead until a Henry Gebhart 3-pointer in the corner with 44 seconds left in the game, a 30-28 lead.

"He made a big one," said Blackshear of the 3-pointer.

Everything that happened next was quite unexpected.

Tyler Parker got a rebound on a Valdosta shot, but was forced into a jump ball situation, the possession being Tift's with 12 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds attempt, Gebhart was accidentally upended, landing hard on his wrist. He missed a second of game action before coming back in, but was holding the wrist the rest of the way.

"He took a nasty spill," said Blackshear.

After a Wildcat foul, Valdosta stole the inbounds pass. Tift had fouls to give and committed one before Valdosta had an opportunity to set its offense.

A Wildcat had a hard time corralling the inbounds after the Tift foul and Parker was there to further tip it. The two battled for possession for a second. A whistle blew and the Valdosta player struck Parker in the face.

As officials were sorting out the call, there was brief excitement in the stands. Blackshear got on the microphone to ask everyone to sit down. Fans complied and the game was

completed without further issue.

With the blow to Parker being called a technical foul, Kobe Farrie hit one free throw for a 31-28 lead. Parker was fouled during Tift's inbound and he made of 1-of-2 from the stripe.

Valdosta called timeout after gathering the rebound. They brought the ball into play to find Tift making zero effort to guard with the four-point lead. A shot at the horn missed and the Blue Devils completed the victory.

Quite reflective of the low final score, offense was at a premium for all 32 minutes.

The score was 4-4 after one quarter, 16-15 Valdosta at the half. The third settled back down with 10 combined points.

It took the Wildcats nearly three minutes to score, a shot by Ajaye Felton. The Devils didn't score until 3:39, a solitary free throw by Farrie. Their initial basket was at 1:09, a turnaround jumper by Parker.

Valdosta exploded to start the 2nd, a 12-3 run that put them ahead 16-7, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Keshawn Floyd. That was as close to a runaway that happened. Farrie and Gebhart hit from behind the arc and Tift finished out the half on an 8-0 run of its own.

At various points of the 3rd and early 4th, the Wildcats had a somewhat comfortable five-point lead, the last of those on a James Siplen jumper with 4:59 left. Parker, Will Clark and Davis Byrnes scratched for five points, with only a free throw in between from Valdosta. A Byrnes free shot knocked it down to 28-27 at 3:29.

Gebhart picked up his fourth foul, but the wheels came into motion on a 'Cats' traveling violation at 1:03. Farrie bounced a pass to a wide open Gebhart by the cheerleaders and the Devils took a 30-28 lead.

Gebhart, Farrie and Parker tied for Tift scoring lead with 8 points each. Clark added 5 points. Nine players scored for Valdosta, none with more than six points. The leader was Israel Jenrette at 6 points. Jabarri Williams scored 5 points.

LADY DEVILS 59, VALDOSTA 51

Tift needed a big comeback in Valdosta to win. At home, they were the ones with the big lead and they did not acquiese.

Valdosta had Essence Cody back in its lineup and that's who the Lady Devils focused most of their defensive energy on. It worked.

"Essence Cody is a heckuva player," said head coach Julie Conner. "We knew we had to play her tight."

Faith Hillmon and Jakembre Beckhom had the honor of taking on Cody in the paint. Neither backed down an inch. Two quick fouls sidelined Cody for most of the 1st half and she didn't score until the 3rd quarter.

"Faith and Jakembre were so tough," said Conner. Cody scored 15 on the night, but Tift was up 35-14 when she first scored and Cody seemed flustered in the 4th period as her height provided no advantages against the positioning of Beckhom and Hillmon.

Defense played a large role for Tift. Their jobs were made easier by the offense.

O'ashia Cushion knocked down six 3-pointers, four of them coming in the 2nd frame.

After a slow start by both teams, it was Beckhom who took advantage of a tipped rebound for an easy basket. O'ashia and Jimeylah Cushion were good from deep, Valdosta couldn't find its shooting eye and Tift was up 14-0 at the quarter.

Zahari Gardner made back-to-back shots to open the 2nd and rouse the Lady Wildcats from their offensive slumber, but it also woke Tift up, too.

A barrage of 3-pointers followed, five in three minutes. O'ashia Cushion hit four, with Jimeylah adding one in between. Valdosta had been hanging in at 14-4 but now it was 33-7 with 2:35 to go in the half. When Jimmya Cushion joined the act, the leak was up to 28 points.

Valdosta closed the half on a 7-0 run. They even outscored the Lady Devils in the 2nd half by 13 points. It was just too much lead from them to recover from.

And Tift was never fully slowed down. They scored 16 points in the 3rd. Yes, there more 3-pointers. O'ashia Cushion one last time, and Trinity Hill.

O'ashia Cushion finished with 22 points. Conner said it was one Cushion's best games ever. Jimeylah Cushion finished with 8 points. wCody's 15 and 11 from Nadia Gardner led the Lady Wildcats.

The Tift teams will now split for holiday contests. Starting Dec. 28, the Lady Devils head north for the Deep South Classic, where their only known opponent is Wesleyan, one Georgia's most successful programs in history. The Blue Devils will be in Ashburn Dec. 22-23 against Macon County and Worth County, respectively. The Macon game will be at 7 p.m. and Worth at 4 p.m.