MBB: No.2 Tigers rebound, clip Kountze
during Wednesday night's game against Kountze in he SEC. The Tigers
won the game, 75-71. (Photo by John Krueger)
TENAHA, Tx -- Coming off an emotional foul-plagued setback to arch-rival Laneville on Tuesday night, the No.2-ranked Tenaha Tigers were looking for a spark against two-time Tenaha Holiday Hoops tournament champion Kountze. What THS head coach Todd Bodden received was a gutsy performance by his squad, which took an early lead and then held off a late charge by the Lions, 75-71, here in the Special Events Center.
The victory propels the Tigers (4-1) into fifth-place game on Thursday, where they will meet San Augustine at 5:30 p.m. in the SEC. Tenaha defeated the Wolves, 76-70, last week in San Augustine.
Kountze will take on Chireno in both teams' final game of the tourney at 5 p.m. in Tiger Gym.
Tenaha did struggle in the turnover department, committing 25 on the night as the Lions turned them into 15 points. But 13 of those points came in the first two periods when Tenaha committed 15 turnovers.
The Tigers, who converted a season-high 13-of-14 (92.9%) free throws, used them to take the lead in the second quarter (hitting 7-of-8), 36-32, and then made all six down the stretch to help ice the game.
"We played better than I thought we would today," said Tiger head coach Todd Bodden after the win. "After the big game last night and losing it, I thought we'd be more flat today. But the kids came out and played real well, all things considering.
"We still in much need of some practice time so we can work on some things."
One of the Tigers who led the way was senior guard Octavius Griffith. Griffith, who was frustrated during the setback to Laneville as he scored just two points before fouling out, canned a team-hit five 3-pointers, finishing with a team-high 21 points.
Griffith's offense off-set the off-night by team leader Reginald Davis, who was held to just eight points. The post tandem of DeAaron Roland and Shaquille Mitchell also gave Kountze fits all night long, dumping in 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Jacoby Ivy scored seven points for THS, while Demon Horton added six and Keontas Davis knocked down four.
Justin Harper had the hot hand for Kountze, nailing six 3-pointers on the night, finishing with a game-high 27 points. Marcus Williams scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, while Jamazdon Powell scored 12 points.
Griffith found his shooting range early on, canning a pair of treys in the first quarter, while Roland added a pair of layups as the Tigers led 14-12 at the end of the first period.
Kountze fought back early in the second quarter to tie the contest at 16-16, but Tenaha then went on an 11-0 run over a span of 1:04 to widen the THS lead to 27-16 with 4:38 left in the half. Griffith hit a three-ponter and a layup during the run and the Tigers were 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
But the Lions wouldn't go away, going on a 12-2 run in just 1:48 as Harper canned a pair of threes and Kountze scored off of three striaght Tiger turnovers.
With the Tiger lead cut to three, the Lions had three opportunities to take the lead, but couldn't put the ball in the basket. Tenaha then took a 36-32 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Lions finally took the lead in the second half, 38-26, as they came out scoring six straight points in the first 1:41. But the lead only lasted seven seconds as Roland threw a long pass to Mitchell for a layup at the opposite end of the court. That began a 10-0 Tenaha run, with all five field goals coming off fastbreak opportunities.
After a three-pointer and a layup by Harper, Tenaha scored the final nine points of the quarter with Griffith hitting a trey and Horton cashing in a pair of layups. THS led 53-43 heading into the fourth.
In the first 2:01 of the final period Kountze was able to cut the Tiger lead to three 56-53, but Tenaha came back with a pair of layups on its transition game to push the lead back to seven.
The teams then traded baskets until the Lions trimmed the deficit to five, 71-66, with 1:21 remaining.
But Kountze missed four shots the cut the lead further and the Tigers then widened the gap back to seven before a three-pointer at the buzzer 15 feet past the midcourt stripe by the Lions made the final deficit four.