Blackville-Hilda High coach Michael Beasley dosen't know what he saw more of Friday night in the Devils' Den-turnovers or missed shots.
The majority of the miscues were committed by his team and the end result was a humbling 52-35 defeat at the hands of the Williston-Elko High Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils got the best of the Hawks in every phase of the game. The Blue Devils out-rebounded the Hawks 31-22.
The Blue Devils shot 22 of 39 from the field compared to the Hawks going 15 of 44 from the field. The Blue Devils had 17 turnovers while the Hawks committed 24.
Blackville-Hilda High, which didn't get its offense going until the fourth quarter, fell to 5-5 in the standings.
"They simply beat us tonight," Beasley said. "They out-hustled us on the boards and they were more aggressive on the fast break. We missed numerous shots in the paint. They capitalized on their shot opportunities in the paint."
The Blue Devils raced to a 17-8 first quarter lead and never looked back.
The Blue Devils' front court was the difference in the game, producing 74 percent of the team's scoring.
Williston-Elko High got a game high 17 points from forward Kalief Freeman. Freeman had no problem getting to the rib as he snared a game high 15 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Forward Jerry James also helped fuel the offense. James, who got team rolling early with two three-pointers in the opening quarter, finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
With the win, Williston-Elko High improves to 6-4 in the standings.
"We did a very good job of crashing the boards and holding them to one-shot opportunities," Williston-Elko High coach Kenneth Lipsey said. "We never lost our focus tonight. We started out playing hard and we finished the game that way. Great overall team win."
A host of other Blue Devils played well. Josh Owens had seven points and six steals. Antonio Coleman led the team with nine assists. Darren Ferguson had three points.
Players scoring two points included Justice Wallace, Trimayne Whetstone and Jahmaya Jenkins.
The top offensive player for Blackville-Hilda was Jalani Jones with 10 points and six steals. Roderic Smith had six point and 11 rebounds.