TIFTON — Winter Homecoming and Hall of Fame weekend came together Saturday at Tift County High School, finishing with a basketball split against Sumter County High.

Tift’s Blue Devils improved to 14-5 with a 51-46 comeback win over Sumter. The Lady Devils had an early lead but saw MaxPreps’ No. 9 AA team step up to win 59-48.

Even Sumter was part of the reunion. Johnny Genwright, head coach of the Panthers, is a former Blue Devil under Tift head coach Tommy Blackshear. And inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday was Dr. Eric Holland, who had coached at both schools, Holland doing so when Americus High was still its own city school system.

The Devils began Saturday with a quick 3-0 lead on a hook shot by Kaden Lawson, but midway through the period were down 6-5 on a jump shot by Michael Terry. Sumter quickly scored four more points and Tift could not get back in front.

The deficit was close most of the game; Sumter’s biggest lead was 36-28 on a Terry free shot at 5:07 in the third quarter. But the Panthers were tied or in front from the first all the way until 6:47 to go in the game.

Cordell Nelson scored on an inbounds pass with one second to go in the first to trail 14-13. Both J.J. Lamar and Nelson tied it in the second, 24-24 and 26-26, but Panther Jarvis Scott went to the free throw line with 0:00.5 left in the half. He hit both shots and the Blue Devils were down 28-26 at the break.

Sumter was hot to start the third, an 8-2 run over three minutes. With Scott knocking down two treys, the Panthers had a 36-28 lead and looked to have figured Tift out.

Nelson had a big block, and the Blue Devils got baskets from Nelson and Lamar to halve the lead. Sumter missed a pair at the stripe and Lamar made a jump shot. With 47 seconds left, Lawson got a bucket off an inbounds pass and the score was square at 36.

Scott had a free throw with 23 seconds left for a 37-36 Panthers lead going into the fourth, but it was the visitors who now had an uphill climb.

Sumter went the last six minutes of the third frame without a basket. It’d take another minute of the fourth for them to make another, an old-fashioned three-point play by Scott. In between, Tift was scoring more easily, on a drive by Lamar and a free throw by Dai’jon Hayes after he intercepted a Panther inbounds pass.

Tift temporarily had troubles holding on to the basketball, which saw Scott make two steals and the Panthers go back up 44-41 at 5:49.

Thankfully, the locals had Nelson, who gave them a 45-44 lead at the line. An intentional foul on Hayes and offensive board by Nelson gave them a tad of breathing room, helpful when Terry cut their lead to 48-46 with 1:34 remaining.

Nelson had another free throw and the Blue Devils defense stiffened even further. Sumter needed quick baskets, but were using up much shot clock as no one was open. Lamar stepped in front of a cutting forward to intercept a pass and whittled the clock down further until he was fouled with 19 seconds remaining.

Lamar went 2-for-2 at the stripe and Tift sealed the win.

Nelson’s 16 was tops for the Devils in scoring, with Lamar at 15 and Lawson at 10. Scott led Sumter with 20 points, with Terry at 12. Coaches credited Lamar’s defense to holding him to only three points after halftime.

SUMTER 59, LADY DEVILS 48

Mackenzie Holliday’s and-one in the first period gave the Lady Devils a 14-8 lead, but Sumter County soon heated up.

Lauren Harris had two baskets during a 9-0 run in the last two minutes of the first, going ahead 17-14. Amira Jordan helped Tift keep pace on an assist by Jaziyah Johnson to end the frame.

Sumter kept surging in the second with a 12-0 scoring spree over five minutes. Tift clawed its way back into contention, getting a close as five points when Johnson assisted Jalaya Miller on a fast break and on Jordan’s basket with a second to go. The visitors had a 33-28 advantage.

The score got closer in the third.

Miller, Jordan and Holliday scored to tie the game at 35-35 at 5:11.

Sumter had other ideas, D’Eria Clark had five quick points, with a three-point play by Jesstynie Scott. Miller kept Tift around, but they trailed 47-39 headed to the fourth.

A 7-2 run was all the Lady Panthers needed for a comfortable lead. A Miller drive closed the gap to eight with 52 seconds remaining, but that was as close as Tift could get it.

Miller and Holliday scored 14 points each. Jordan had 11. The Lady Devils did get a spark. After missing four games, Makayla Bryant played some minutes.

Tift County has a busy week ahead of them, with Region 1-6A games all three nights. They’ll be at Colquitt County Tuesday, Richmond Hill Friday and Lowndes Saturday.