The South Effingham boys basketball team had its shot — and then some — at the Statesboro Blue Devils on Tuesday night.

But the Mustangs didn’t get enough of them to fall, either from the field or from the free throw line, in a 58-50 loss to the Blue Devils.

"We missed some shots, and we missed some free throws," lamented Mustangs coach Patrick McClure. "That really hurt us, especially when you’re losing by eight."

The Mustangs, who led for most of the first quarter, trailed by as much as 16 in the second half. Yakeem Coleman’s layup with 3:27 left in the third period stretched Statesboro’s advantage to 39-23.

But South Effingham, 4-16 overall and 0-6 in Region 2-AAAA (B), began hacking away at the lead. Wesley Mullins’ basket just before the buzzer, off Sean Lemon’s steal and assist, capped an 8-0 run.

In that stretch, however, the Mustangs missed the front end of two one-and-ones, negating a possible four more points. For the night, South Effingham was 17-of-32 from the line, and the Mustangs hit just two of their first eight free-throw attempts.

Lemon’s steal, which he turned into a layup, brought the Mustangs within 40-38. His 3-pointer from the corner cut the lead to 44-43 with 5:58 remaining in the game.

A strange sequence followed at the 4:52 mark. Statesboro’s Johnathan Taylor was fouled and went to the line for a one-and-one. His first free throw missed, but the Mustangs were cited for a lane violation and he was given a second opportunity at his first shot. He made it, but the Mustangs were allowed to take possession of the ball and inbounded it.

Nine seconds later, the referees realized their mistake and returned Taylor to the free-throw line, where he made his second free throw. The nine seconds that lapsed were never restored to the clock.

Coleman’s back-to-back layups stretched the lead back out to nine, 53-44. Chase Clayton’s two free throws cut the margin to 53-47 with 2:18 to go, but the Blue Devils — who struggled at the line too — were 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:21.

"In the first half, we really battled with them, especially on the boards," McClure said. "As the game went on, we wore down a little bit. Their athleticism took over."

The Mustangs, plagued by slow starts, jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first quarter, pressing the Blue Devils from the start.

"We have been doing a good job, trying to upset people’s tempo," McClure said. "It’s been good to us the last couple of weeks. The boys are starting to play hard in the press."

Zaquavian Smith, who connected on three 3s, led the Blue Devils with 16 points. Coleman, just 3-of-10 from the line and held without a 3-pointer, added 11 points. Taylor, who missed nearly two months with a broken finger, scored eight points, as did Jaquell Harper.

Lemon paced the Mustangs with 16 points, while Mullins added 11. Clayton scored eight, Pannell added six, Alex Norwood had four points, Larry Tyson had two points and Jimmy Reid scored one point.

"Sean had his best game overall, offensively and defensively," McClure said. "I thought we played together on offense, and Justin Pannell did a good job running the show."

South Effingham hosts Effingham County tonight and hosts Screven County on Saturday night.