By JOSH FRYE
News Sportswriter
The Escambia County boys’ basketball team is currently holding strong as the second ranked Class 4A team within the ASWA High School Basketball Rankings after defeating Williamson High School, 59-39, last Friday (January 14).
During Friday’s home season game, Sheldon Williams led the Blue Devils in scoring with 22 points. Stephen Williams supplemented his brother’s scoring high with 14 points. Hakeem Johnson added 10 points, Conner McPherson scored 9. Anthony McCants and Jacob Dirden added 2 points each.
The ECHS boys, who are currently 18-3 on the season, will travel to meet Williamson this Friday, January 21, at 4:30 p.m. as they attempt to move forward into the number one slot in ASWA Class 4A rankings.
For the ECHS Lady Blue Devils basketball team, last Friday played out slightly different. The home girls fell, 50-47, against Williamson. The loss marked the first time this season the ECHS girls have lost a regular season game. Going into last Friday’s game, the Lady Blue Devils were 16-2, with the only two losses this season coming from non-region tournament games.
“It was a tough loss,” ECHS head coach Keyon Thompson said. “Despite just falling short on Friday, I am very proud of my girls. They fight hard and are eager to continue winning. After being a losing team for so long, they now have a taste of winning and they want to hold on to that.”
Following Friday’s loss, the ECHS girls voluntarily gave up their Sunday this past week for a day of practice in order to improve and prepare for this week’s re-match against Williamson.
During last Friday’s game, C’Anna Betts and Jayla Adams led the team in scoring with 18 points each. In addition, Betts was recognized between the first and second half for reaching 1,000 career points. As an award and gift from her team, Betts was presented a team signed basketball ball and posed for photos with her coach and parents.
Despite ECHS’s outstanding record of 18-3, the girls are not ranked within the ASWA Basketball Rankings within Class 4A. The Lady Blue Devils will re-match against Williamson this Friday, January 21. Games start at 4:30 p.m.