TIFTON — Tift County fans will get their first look at the Blue Devils and Lady Devils basketball teams on the local court Saturday night when they play Thomasville.

Varsity action will start at 7 p.m. There will be a junior varsity girls game at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday will mark the regular season debut for the Lady Devils. The Blue Devils already have a regular season game under their belt, a loss to Meadowcreek last Saturday. Both defeated Worth County in scrimmages last Thursday, the girls winning 60-39 and the boys defeating the Rams, 50-39.

Lady Devils head coach Julie Conner is thrilled to open at home.

“Any time you get to play at home, everybody is on this high,” she said.

Conner was able to give everyone on her roster significant minutes against Worth as the Lady Devils led by as many as 26 points in the third quarter.

Jamia Level led all scorers with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Nicky Jones added nine points and Tamari Way and Joslyn Reyes each scored eight.

In the Blue Devils’ victory, Marquavious Johnson scored 14 points. Montavious Terrell and J.J. McClain each scored nine points. Johnson scored 11 against Meadowcreek, a contest that saw the defending Class AAAAAAA champions fall, 70-46.

Thomasville was scheduled to play scrimmages against Westover Thursday night. Tift will be their first regular season games.

The Lady Bulldogs finished 10-19 in 2016-17, falling to Bleckley County in the first round of the state tournament. Thomasville has undergone changes since then, including hiring a new head coach. Carmenoque Dawson takes over from Antonio Wade.

Like Tift County, the Bulldogs will be missing a few players because of football. One player who is expected to take the court Saturday, however, is Reggie Perry.

Perry, 6’8” and considered one of Georgia’s top high school prospects, signed with Mississippi State last week. When Thomasville came through Tifton a year ago, Perry had a verbal commitment to Arkansas and scored 16 of the Bulldogs’ 28 points.

The Bulldogs advanced to the second round of state in Class AA last season, finishing 19-9.

Following the home date, the boys and girls teams of Tift County will again go separate ways.

The Devils will play in the Trojan Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., next Monday and Tuesday. They will first play Impact Christian Academy, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based school at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the second opponent will be Navarre (Fla.) at noon. Impact, according to MaxPreps, is playing just its second year of varsity basketball.

The Lady Devils will be closer to home, playing at Lowndes Monday and Tuesday. The opponents will be Bainbridge and Peach County, respectively, both games at 4 p.m.

Conner said she is wary of Bainbridge’s star player, Nadia Marshall, who earned second team All-State last year. Peach, she said, “Has two great guards.” Peach was a quarterfinalist in the 2017 state tournament.

“Two tough games,” said Conner.

Both teams will break for Thanksgiving before returning at Cook High Nov. 28 for a pair of games with the Hornets.