Hot Tift pours it on against Coffee

Published 9:00 am Saturday, December 10, 2022

TIFTON — The lead built so quickly Friday, Dec. 9, it was hard to notice. One minute, Tift County had a three-point lead on visiting Coffee, a minute later, an eight-point lead.

The advantage grew and grew, eventually ballooning up to 20 points. Coffee had a brief run in the end, but not nearly enough in the Blue Devils’ 61-46 win.

Friday’s game was the home opener for the Devils, who improve to 2-1 for the year. Only varsity boys played against Coffee. Both Tift squads were to be home Dec. 13 against Westover.

Head coach Tommy Blackshear credited the fans with keeping the energy up for the Blue Devils all night. “Especially the student body,” he said. “They came and they did a good job.”

Not only was the crowd loud, they were large, one of Tift’s largest since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020.

Through three quarters of action, Tift’s biggest lead had been seven points, Coffee’s five. Most of the contest had been much closer, however, and Trenton Wilson’s jumper to close out the 3rd meant the Devils were ahead by a mere three points, 39-36.

Everything began falling into place for the hosts with the initial basket of the 4th. Tyler Parker found McKyler Horne open behind the arc at 7:28.

Wilson provided a three-point answer 15 seconds later. Tift returned fire with a layup by Will Clark. The Trojans did not have an answer for this, nor did they for the Parker 3-pointer by the bench that beat the shot clock.

They also didn’t have an answer for a Henry Gebhart free throw or Parker’s high lob to an open Davis Byrnes in the paint. The Trojans did drive to the middle but ran into Ty’Quan Mills, resulting not only in a charge but Junitho Benson fouling out of the game.

“We had gotten some pretty good looks in the 1st half,” said Blackshear. “We just didn’t make them.”

All in all, Coffee did not score at all for more than seven minutes. During their absence, that little 39-36 lead at the end of the 3rd blossomed to 59-39, a 17-0 run.

By the time the Trojans made their side of the scoreboard move again, Tift’s regulars had long departed. Fred White had their final basket. Coffee beat the buzzer on theirs, but all it did was turn a 17-point margin to its final 15.

As big as the shots were for the Devils, Blackshear said he was most pleased with another aspect: “We stuck with our defense.”

“Even when we weren’t scoring, we didn’t let them get away from us,” he said.

The last quarter was not the only extended BLue Devils’ run, but it was the most noticeable.

The first four minutes were Tift’s too.

Clark fed Horne on a backdoor cut to open scoring. Parker converted a fast break and Gebhart hit a 3 from by the Coffee cheerleaders.

Benson broke the ice for the Trojans at 4:02. Parker made a pair of free throws to push it back to seven, but Coffee quickly clawed their way back in it, Jy’Darius Odums evening the ledger at 11 apiece before Clark’s free throws made it 13-11 headed to the 2nd.

Free throws were Tift’s biggest boost in the 1st half. They hade their first six and were 13-of-15 over the initial 16 minutes. For the game, the Devils made 18-of-25.

Blackshear is enjoying the free throw accuracy, and it’s not just one or two players. Clark, Gebhart, Parker and Kobe Farrie are lights out from the stripe. Friday, they combined to miss four free shots, while 17 of the makes were theirs.

“That helps when the right people are shooting [free throws],” he said.

After the 1st period surge, Coffee carried it over into the 2nd. After re-tying at 15, Nevin Swanson put them in front on a 3. Larry Daniel’s shot at 3:17 on a tipped rebound pushed it 20-15 at 3:17.

The Devils shook that off and finished out the quarter on a 9-2 tear. Seven points were free throws and Clark gave the Blue Devils a 24-22 lead at halftime by making both attempts with 5 seconds to go.

More back-and-forth action followed in the 3rd. Tift again went up by seven on a 3 by Parker and a shot by Tristan Boone. The Trojans again worked their way back in, but ran out of steam in the final quarter.

Parker led the way with 19 points, 15 in the 2nd half. Gebhart scored 10 with Farrie and Clark each at 9.

No Coffee players hit double digits. Wilson scored 9. Daniel and Khyolic Paulk added 8 apiece. Benson scored 7 in the 1st but was shut down the rest of the way.

Tift faces Sumter County at home on Dec. 16 and Valdosta on Dec. 17. The Devils will be seeking revenge for a loss to Valdosta earlier this year.