A hard-fought physical battle between Hartselle’s Tigers (2-2) and Brewer’s Patriots (3-7) ended in the Tigers’ favor as they pulled off a 42-39 win on the road Friday night.

The contest was in question until the final buzzer when a three-point desperation shot by Brewer’s Coty Benitez clanged off the back of the iron and fell into the hands of a Hartselle defender.

Hartselle’s Timbo Slaton made two free throws with 16 second left to give his team a three-point cushion.

The Tigers never trailed in the contest but their largest advantage was seven points. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead but Brewer battled back and cut the lead to 12-8 at the end of the first period. The Tigers were ahead 26-25 at halftime and held a 34-30 advantage after three periods.

“As much as we’ve been struggling with our shooting, I knew it was going to be a tough defensive battle,” said Hartselle head coach Keith Wright. “I also know coach Oldacre (Doug) is a good coach and was going to his kids ready to play.

“I thought we made some bad decisions in the game but that’s something we can learn from,” he added “But our kids stepped up and made three big defensive plays at the end and they turned out to be the difference in the game.”

Slaton paced the Tigers in scoring with 14 points. Deacon Aldridge had eight points and Preston Adams and Prestyn Wallace each had six.

Brandon Elder led the Patriots on offense with 13 points, Cole Oldacre pitched in nine and Zach Steffan had eight.