Statesboro stops Evans' win streak
Since losing a region game to Jones County on Dec. 11, Evans had reeled off five straight wins heading into its first region contest since the loss.
Statesboro put an end to the Knights' winning streak Friday night with a resounding 65-40 win.
The Blue Devils went on a 12-0 run to start the second half, extending an 11-point halftime lead to 23 points to pull away from Evans.
"We played a complete game tonight," Statesboro coach Lee Hill said. "We got a lot of inside baskets, played good defense and shot the ball well."
The Knights were outscored 29-15 in the second half and trailed by as many as 29 points.
Many of the Statesboro baskets were a result of the Blue Devils' trapping press. The Knights had difficulty getting the ball past the half-court line during much of the third quarter.
"We practiced against (the press) during the week," Evans coach Kevin Kenny said. "We just didn't do a good job with the press. We could have handled it better."
Hill said he felt the press broke the game open because the Knights were close until the Blue Devils really used the press.
Evans (8-7, 1-2) started quickly with two 3-pointers by Glenn Miller, who led Evans with 15 points. But the Blue Devils went on a 19-5 run after Miller's baskets to lead 24-11 after the first quarter.
The Knights could have been closer but missed a number of lay-ups and uncontested shots.
"We missed a lot of lay-ups, a lot of easy shots," Kenny said. "But sometimes your shots don't fall and you have to make up for it on the defensive end. We didn't do that."
The Lady Knights also lost to Statesboro, falling 44-32.
Evans (3-8, 0-3) led 19-17 at halftime and the teams were tied after three quarters, despite the Lady Knights playing without five players (three due to grades and two because of illness).
Statesboro (12-4, 3-0) went on a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter and Evans didn't score until 2:45 left in the quarter.
The Lady Blue Devils out-scored Evans 19-7 in the final quarter.
"We showed a lot of heart out there tonight," Evans coach Tim Whitfield said. "We didn't really have the depth to match them in the fourth quarter but we hung right in there for most of the game."