| Caleb Suggs

Caleb Suggs

Hartselle Enquirer

It was a very energy packed atmosphere when the Hartselle Tigers hosted the West Morgan Rebels for senior night. The Rebels were trying to lose focus and look ahead to their rematch with the Priceville Bulldogs, who defeated them in the county championship, while the Tigers were looking to claim their third straight victory after two impressive wins over Brewer and Lawrence County.

The game started with a very fast pace. West Morgan quickly took a 5-0 lead. Trace Hill would enter the game and cut the lead to 5-3 with a three pointer. Kyle Eddy would then tie the game at 6-6 with a three pointer of his own. Hartselle would take the lead 9-6 on a three-point play from Eric Stephenson. However, West Morgan would cut it to 9-8 before the end of first quarter. Hartselle’s home court advantage would cause problems for the Rebels in the second quarter. The Tigers would take a 17-10 lead behind three pointers from Hill and Eddy as well as a basket from Seth Garner. After a timeout, West Morgan would cut the lead to 17-15 with 5 points from Gammon Morgan, but Hartselle would extend the lead with two three pointers from Eddy and Isaac Taylor. West Morgan would close the gap to 25-20 after a dunk and foul shot from Keandre Swopes, which also energized the Rebel crowd. However, Hartselle would surge back ahead following scores Hill, Eddy and Taylor to hold a 34-22 lead. West Morgan would manage to fight back and Braxton Holland would knock in a three pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 34-30.

Hartselle would continue their attack in the second half. Scores from Garner, Hill and Taylor would give the Tigers a 45-35 lead. The Tigers would then knock in three straight three pointers to make their lead 54-42. Two more scores by Hill and Eddy would make the lead 59-44 and the Tigers would take a 59-48 lead into the fourth quarter.

Things looked grim for the Rebels but they weren’t done just yet. The Rebels would cut the score to 59-55 behind scores from Holland, Swopes and Parker Henson. Holland would cut the score to 61-60 with a three pointer. Steven Hill would give the Rebels their first lead in a long time at 64-63. The Rebels would then proceed to run away with the game and eventually win 73-65.

Player of the game: Keandre Swopes. In a game like this you need your senior leaders to stand up. The Rebels were down by 15 points late in the game and could have folded easily. However, Swopes continued physical play inside helped lift the Rebels over the Tigers in this game.