Although the determined Bradwell Tigers tied the Liberty County Panthers twice and at one point took a narrow lead during Wednesday’s game at the Gentlemen’s Classic Tournament in Statesboro, the squad eventually fell to the Panthers, 83-69.
After gaining an edge late in the third and fourth quarters, Liberty is now 3-0 at the classic 14-0 for the season.
Division I standouts Rion Brown and Jordan McRae knocked in 26 points each and nearly keeping pace were Tigers Tykeem Brown and Nafyis Johnson, each chipping in 17 points.
The duos on both teams traded trey shot for trey shot, keeping the fans on edge wondering which way the game would go.
Up by three, the Tigers tied the score and took a 13-9 lead before the Panthers made a short run. The Tigers tied the score again at 18 and were ahead by three, but the Panthers rallied to close the half up 36-30.
McRae and Brown found their grooves and teamed up in the second half to extend their squad’s lead by 14 for the win.
“I expected my guys to play the way they did tonight,” Tiger coach Pete Woodard said. “Tonight they were winners even though the scoreboard didn’t show it. They showed me the intensity tonight that I haven’t seen all year and I can finally say they started the game and finished it despite the score.”
Tigers Darius Shuman and Deandre Duren aided their squad scoring 10 and 9 points, respectively, and Woodard said if the team can play the way they did against Liberty, they should coast the rest of the season.
The Tigers did well at the line, hitting 10 of 16. The Panthers hit 16 of 25 at the line, and Panther coach Willie Graham said they need to work on improving those stats.
“Intensity-wise, it was a better night for us,” Graham said. “We just hope we can keep getting better, solve our free throw woes, but things are coming along. It was a good night and a good game.”
The Tigers started the New Year with a game in Ludowici on Saturday against the Long County Blue Tide and will head to Savannah High for a region game Tuesday against the Blue Jackets.
The Panthers will take a short break before hosting West Laurens on Friday in region action.
Panthers 14 36 58 83
Tigers 15 30 50 69
Scoring:
Panthers Brown and McRae had 26 points each.
Tigers Johnson and Brown had 17 points each.
After gaining an edge late in the third and fourth quarters, Liberty is now 3-0 at the classic 14-0 for the season.
Division I standouts Rion Brown and Jordan McRae knocked in 26 points each and nearly keeping pace were Tigers Tykeem Brown and Nafyis Johnson, each chipping in 17 points.
The duos on both teams traded trey shot for trey shot, keeping the fans on edge wondering which way the game would go.
Up by three, the Tigers tied the score and took a 13-9 lead before the Panthers made a short run. The Tigers tied the score again at 18 and were ahead by three, but the Panthers rallied to close the half up 36-30.
McRae and Brown found their grooves and teamed up in the second half to extend their squad’s lead by 14 for the win.
“I expected my guys to play the way they did tonight,” Tiger coach Pete Woodard said. “Tonight they were winners even though the scoreboard didn’t show it. They showed me the intensity tonight that I haven’t seen all year and I can finally say they started the game and finished it despite the score.”
Tigers Darius Shuman and Deandre Duren aided their squad scoring 10 and 9 points, respectively, and Woodard said if the team can play the way they did against Liberty, they should coast the rest of the season.
The Tigers did well at the line, hitting 10 of 16. The Panthers hit 16 of 25 at the line, and Panther coach Willie Graham said they need to work on improving those stats.
“Intensity-wise, it was a better night for us,” Graham said. “We just hope we can keep getting better, solve our free throw woes, but things are coming along. It was a good night and a good game.”
The Tigers started the New Year with a game in Ludowici on Saturday against the Long County Blue Tide and will head to Savannah High for a region game Tuesday against the Blue Jackets.
The Panthers will take a short break before hosting West Laurens on Friday in region action.
Panthers 14 36 58 83
Tigers 15 30 50 69
Scoring:
Panthers Brown and McRae had 26 points each.
Tigers Johnson and Brown had 17 points each.