Before Tuesday's region showdown with Blackville-Hilda High, Williston-Elko High varsity boys coach Devin Liferidge fretted about taking on the high-scoring Blackville-Hilda Hawks while his team continues to struggle offensively.

Blackville-Hilda High was averaging 61 points per game and to make matters worse, the Hawks came into the contest on a hot streak after winning seven of its last eight games.

Liferidge need not have worried.

The Blue Devils turned the tables on its in-county foe as they sizzled to a 25-12 halftime lead then to a 55-42 victory.

The Blue Devils did most of it damage from the perimeter with Antonio Walker getting the bulk of the work with 24 points, including three three-pointers.

Most importantly, it was the play of the Blue Devils defense that set the tone of the game as they held the Hawks to 19 points below its season average.

"This was a game we needed and we went out and performed well," Liferidge said.

"We've struggled to score points at times this season, so we knew our only chance of beating them was to play outstanding defense. I thought we did a good job of contesting shots and keeping them off the boards. We did a good job of keeping a hand in their shooter's face all game long."

For Blackville-Hilda High, poor shooting, especially in the first half (seven-of-23 from the field) hurt the team.

"I don't want to take anything from Williston-Elko because they played better and deserved to win this game. However, we played horrible tonight," Blackville-Hilda coach Michael Beasley said.

"No matter who the opponent is if we play like we did in this game, we not going to beat anyone."

Several other players Blue Devils had good performances, including Quantel Mack with nine points and eight assists.

Rokeem Williams registered nine points and 10 boards. Kevin Johnson had five points, including a three-pointer and Rosean Wilson added four points.

Leading the scoring for Blackville-Hilda was point guard Javaris Dukes with 16 points and seven assists. Miles Vice had a good outing with 12 points and eight steals.

Andrew Smith and Larry Johnson each scored six points while Jaleel Hammonds added five points.