The Red Level Tigers split varsity games with T.R. Miller on the first night of the 21st annual Red Level Christmas Tournament on Thursday.

GIRLS

T.R. MILLER 49,

RED LEVEL 20

In the varsity girls’ match, T.R. Miller built a strong lead early and held off Red Level for a 49-20 win.

T.R. Miller opened up the first period and quickly built a double-digit lead.

At the end of the first period, T.R. Miller was on top 28-2.

Red Level never quit, but was unable to overcome the slow start as they fell 49-20.

Liz Cross led the Lady Tigers with five points.

Red Level will play McKenzie today at 9 a.m.

BOYS

RED LEVEL 44,

T.R. MILLER 35

In the final game of the evening, Red Level held off T.R. Miller for a 44-35 win.

Chance Russell put Red Level up with a quick layup, but the game went back-and-forth for the entire first period.

Jacob Catrett knocked down a 3-pointer that put Red Level on top 11-8 heading into the second period.

Catrett added a spin layup in the second period as Red Level built a 22-18 lead heading into halftime.

Kade Green helped get Red Level rolling in the third period as they stretched their lead to 32-24 going into the fourth period.

Russell came up with a big steal in the fourth and slung the ball behind his back to Green who put it in for a layup.

Matthew Coleman brought the crowd to its feet as he threw down a monster dunk that helped seal the 44-35 victory.

“I think we came out and played a little slow to start with,” Red Level head coach Allen Catrett said. “Overall, we did a good job. We did a good job defensively and we made some shots when it counted. We didn’t turn the ball over many times so we didn’t limit our number of possessions that way. I thought we did a good job of taking care of the ball.”

Red Level will take on Luverne today at 7:30 p.m.