Tigers drop heartbreakers to Austin, Mountain Brook
The Hartselle Tigers suffered two heartbreaking losses last week to visiting Austin and Mountain Brook.
Austin 80, Hartselle 72
The Tigers (6-3) battled with 7A Austin for four quarters but came up short in their 80-72 loss.
The Black Bears led 18-13 after the first quarter and 33-18 at halftime. They extended their lead to 50-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
However, Hartselle would not go away quietly as they scored a school-record 40 points in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to eight at the final buzzer. The Tigers, trailed 70-55 midway through the fourth, went on a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 72-69 with 45 seconds left.
Rylan Smothers finished with a career-high 22 points to lead Hartselle. He also had eight rebounds. Kiah Key had 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals before fouling out. Ryan Dunn added 11 points and five assists, while Kohl Key had 10 points.
Jordan Johnson led Austin with 23 points.
Mountain Brook 62, Hartselle 56
Hartselle lead through three and half quarters before falling 62-56 to Mountain Brook this past Friday.
The Tigers to an 18-12 first-quarter lead after closing with a 13-4 run over the final 3:50 of the first quarter. Mountain Brook battled back with a 17-8 run over the first 4:26 of the second quarter to take a 29-28 lead. The Tigers outscored the Spartans 6-4 to take a 34-33 lead at the half.
Hartselle’s defense held Mountain Brook to seven points in the third quarter as they extended their lead to 44-40 into the fourth.
The Tigers were held to two points over the first four minutes of the final quarter, while the Spartans scored 11 points to take a 51-46 lead. The closest that Hartselle would get the rest of the way was three points on a couple of different occasions before ultimately falling 62-56.
Kohl Key finished with 14 points while hitting four three-pointers to lead the Tigers (6-4). Dunn added 13 points. Smothers, Markus Tapscott, and Thomas Itsede each finished with six points. Smothers added nine rebounds.
