Tigers fall to Mainland 56-34 to open the Florida Classic Shootout
Hartselle ventured down to Daytona Beach, FL to play in the Florida Classic Shootout hosted by Mainland High School. On day one of the Shootout, the Tigers had a matchup with the host Buccaneers.
Hartselle played a shaky first half, only scoring 10 points in the first two quarters. Mainland hit two threes and scored the first 10 points of the game before a Luke Ward free throw got the Tigers on the board. The Bucs reeled off another five in a row before Thomas Itsede and Kiah Key hit back-to-back buckets to cut the lead to 15-5. After another Mainland 4-0 run, the lead was 19-5 heading to the second quarter.
The defenses dominated the second quarter, as both teams combined for 12 points. Mainland outscored Hartselle 7-5 to take a 26-10 lead into halftime. Ryan Dunn and Dominic Simmons scored two points each for the Tigers in the quarter.
Hartselle struggled to get any momentum going in the third quarter, as they were once again held to five points. The Bucs outscored the Tigers 11-5 to take a 37-15 lead into the final quarter. Simmons scored on a layup and Kiah Key hit a three-pointer for the Hartselle points.
The Tigers built some momentum for the rest of the Shootout with a 19-point fourth quarter. Kohl Key hit two three-pointers to lead the scoring surge. Ward netted four points to help the Tigers finish the game positively. Mainland scored 19 points to make the final score 56-34.
Kohl Key finished with seven points, four rebounds, and two steals to lead Hartselle (6-8). Kiah Key and Dominic Simmons each added six points. Ward and Thomas Itsede had five points apiece. Itsede led the team in rebounding with seven.
