The Long County Blue Tide boys basketball team got a big win in Region 3-AAA play Monday night while the Liberty County Lady Panthers kept their season rolling with a big win over their next-county rivals.

The Panthers came into Ludowici after dangerous road conditions from Winter Storm Enzo last week caused the game to be delayed from Friday to Monday.

This did not seem to bother the Lady Panthers as they came out hot in the first quarter against the Lady Tide and eventually won 53-40.

Like most of the season, it was the Lyric McIver show for Liberty County. They had a slim 8-5 lead midway through the first quarter, but an 8-0 run to close gave them a 16-5 lead going into the second. McIver scored 12 of those points.

The Lady Tide seemed to get a handle on McIver and the Panther offense in the second quarter as they held them to just two points in the quarter and those did not come until there was just 45 seconds left in the half.

It was still a struggle for the Tide offensively, however, as they only put up seven points in the quarter and trailed 18-13 at the half. Their leading scorer, senior guard Makinzie Moody, did not score at all in the half.

The Tide got within one possession early in the third quarter, but McIver’s back-to-back three-point plays gave the Panthers an eight-point lead and that was pretty much all they needed to go into cruise control.

Liberty County led 39-26 going into the fourth quarter.

McIver led the Panthers with 30 points and added 13 rebounds for a double-double. The Tide were led by sophomore guard Zae Buckner, who scored 12 points on the night.

The Panthers improved to 9-7 and still only have one region loss at 6-1 on the season. The Lady Tide fell to 2-11 and 1-5 in region play.

The boys teams both came out jockeying for position in region play. The Panthers were in sole possession of third place in the region at 4-2 while the Blue Tide were in a three-way tie for fourth at 4-3.

That changed as the Blue Tide used a furious fourth quarter run to pull away from the Panthers in a 60-48 win, but it was a close game for most of the contest.

Contrasting playing styles were apparent for both teams on the night as the Panthers relied on the long-range shot while the Tide got things going down low.

The Panthers were 1-6 from 3-point range in the first quarter while the Tide only took two attempts from 3. The Tide led 13-11 going into the second quarter.

Sophomore guard Jy’son Mallard hit a tough layup while getting fouled early in the second, but missed the free throw as the Tide led 15-11.

The Panthers finally got hot from three as they hit two of their first three attempts of the quarter, coming from Devin Scott and Terez Golden. This set a 7-4 run that gave the Panthers an 18-17 lead.

However, another three-point play from Christian Presley capped off a 5-0 run that finished as a 9-2 run as the Tide led 26-20 going into halftime.

The Tide led 30-26 with around 5 minutes left in the third and got back-to-back makes from 3-point range by Ja’mere Martin and Zyi Holt. This gave them a 36-26 lead late in the quarter.

The Panthers had to change gears offensively after they missed six straight 3s to end the second quarter. They took just one attempt in the third and missed.

Down by 12, the Panthers needed something to change their luck. A technical foul against the Blue Tide gave the Panthers two free throws and started a 6-1 run that made the score 41-34.

This was not enough however as the Tide led 43-34 going into the fourth quarter. Up just five early in the fourth, Holt hit a layup while getting fouled and put the Tide up 48-40.

Holt’s three-point play started a 13-2 run that made the score 58-42 late in the quarter. The Panthers were forced to turn to long-range shots, but, like in the first half, they just weren’t falling as they went 1-6 in the fourth.

The Tide were paced by three players in double digits. Holt had 20 points and four assists, Presley added 12 points and four assists and Martin had 13 points.

Scott had 14 points and was nearly perfect from the free throw line, hitting 7 of 8. Jaden Hurd scored 11 in the second half and Elijah Brown scored 12 points.

With the win, the Tide moved to 9-10 and 5-3 in the region while the Panthers fell to 7-8 and 4-3 in the region.