The Hephzibah Rebels boys basketball team scored from long range and from inside the paint, and the combination proved too much for the South Effingham Mustangs.

The Rebels’ 6-foot-5 center Elijah Smith had 18 points, all from in close, and guards Mike Boyd and Blake Bush had 14 points apiece in a 65-39 win Friday night at The Corral.

Davis had 10 points in the first quarter, outscoring the Mustangs by three points in the opening period. He converted two offensive rebounds and Bush and Boyd did the damage from 3-point territory as they each hit two 3s in the first half.

The Mustangs trailed 17-2 on Bush’s first 3-pointer and were down 22-4 on Boyd’s first 3 of the game. But Eddie Harris hit a 3 and the Mustangs were able to tread water from there as Alex Reid’s leaner cut it to 27-13 midway through the second quarter.

The Rebels, though, closed the period on a 10-4 run as Boyd and Bush connected on 3s to close out the scoring.
Harris led the Mustangs with 12 points while Jaron Mullins had seven points, Tanner Burch had five, Reid and Aaron Fisher each had four, Justin Hatten had three and Zach Anderson and Jamaal Bynes each had two points.

Hephzibah improved to 4-0 in Region 3-AAA while the Mustangs slipped to 0-4 in the region.