TIFTON — Christmas basketball is back this week as Tift County’s boys and girls play at The Palace. Seven games total take place over the two days of hoops Friday and Saturday.

Tift’s boys will play both days, against Lanier County at 8:30 p.m. Friday and versus Cook at the same time on Saturday. The Lady Devils take on Appling County at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Outside of the Lady Devils’ game, every other contest features boys’ teams. The full Friday schedule sees Cook take on Fitzgerald at 5:30 p.m.; Irwin County against Crisp County at 7 and Tift versus Lanier at 8:30.

On Saturday, action tips at 4 p.m. with Crisp and Lanier; rivals Fitzgerald and Irwin play at 5:30; Tift and Appling girls at 7 and Tift against Cook boys at 8:30.

Admission is $10 each day.

Tift Blue Devils head coach Tommy Blackshear loves the local nature of the tournament. Lanier has the longest journey of any of the boys teams, and they are less than one hour away.

“Every game is like a little border war,” Blackshear said. He said it was quality basketball at that. All but one team played in the state tournament. Blackshear’s been able to keep the same core group in recent years, making it beneficial for all parties.

The Lady Devils are only in action Saturday, a scheduled 7 p.m. tip against Appling County. Tift was to have had two games, but Friday’s opponent canceled and the contest was not replaced.

Appling enters at 7-5 to the Lady Devils’ 4-5. Keniyah White leads the offense at 15 points per game with Shamiah Barnum at 10.4. Perri Mitchell has been their top rebounder. Two players are over six feet tall, including Mitchell.

This group of Lady Pirates have been working their way up. Appling went 9-16 last year, their best record since 10 victories in 2014-15. Once one of the state’s best programs, they have had few winning records in the past 20 years.

“Very good” and “very tough” is how Lady Devils head coach Julie Conner-Johnson described the Baxley bunch. After years of being on the road at Christmastime, she said her team is excited to be back home.

A rough stretch dropped Tift to 2-5, but they have won their past two games, 61-44 over Fitzgerald and 41-16 over Northside of Warner Robins.

Jalaya Miller returned early in the season from injuries, and the Lady Devils got an additional boost against Northside in the return of Jimmya Cushion. Cushion sank a third-quarter three-pointer, giving her 995 points for her career.

Cushion has an excellent chance of reaching 1,000 against Appling. Conner-Johnson said everything is all set if Cushion makes history.

Tift’s Blue Devils enter at 6-3 after a rough weekend in Valdosta against a pair of Florida teams. After falling to Williston Friday, they dropped a 65-27 battle to Florida State University High Saturday.

“Definitely the two best teams we’ve played,” Blackshear said. He’d like his squad to increase their intensity a bit more as they roll into region.

Lanier has the best record of any squad at 7-1. The Bulldogs from Lakeland dropped their opener 49-44 to Berrien, but have been extremely solid since. They avenged the Berrien loss and have only had one game closer than 12 points since.

The Bulldogs’ arrival will bring a familiar face. Former Lady Devils’ assistant Shan Garner is puling double-duty in Lakeland, coaching both boys and girls. Former Devils head coach Chris Wade was at Lanier last year, but has since moved to Rome.

Saturday’s opponent, Cook, is 2-9. It has not been a particularly fun start for the Hornets. They won over Irwin, but fell in rematch. They also edged Brooks County in overtime. Their last game was a particularly rough encounter with Worth County.

As for the others playing at The Place Dec. 27-28, Fitzgerald is 5-1. The Purple Hurricane’s loss to Tift Dec. 14 has been their only of the year. They’ve blown out four of their other opponents, including a 63-24 win against Wilcox County.

Irwin County is 3-5, but has won three of their last four since football players returned. That includes turning a 62-20 loss at Coffee into a 61-60 win in Ocilla. Crisp County is 6-3 after having lost two of their last three. Among their wins are blastings of WIlcox, Perry and Hawkinsville.