The Straughn Tigers lost a heartbreaker 49-48 to the Daleville Warhawks in Saturday’s championship game of the Straughn Christmas tournament.

 

The Tigers got off to a decent start, and moved the ball around well. Defensively, the Tigers did a great job at limiting open shots by the Warhawks. At the end of the first, the Tigers were out front 11-9.

 

The Tigers used strong defense in the second period to take a 24-21 lead into halftime. The Tigers created crucial turnovers that led to points to help the Tigers maintain the halftime lead. The Tigers’ Rollin Kinsaul hit a 3-pointer from 8-feet behind the line, just as time was running out in the half to give the Tigers the lead.

 

In the third period, the Tigers struggled on both ends of the floor. The Tigers were unable to make many shots fall, and the Warhawks found a groove and couldn’t miss. The Warhawks outscored the Tigers 22-9 in the third, and it would prove costly for the Tigers. After three periods of play, the Warhawks took a 43-33 lead.

 

The Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight though. In the fourth the Tigers regained the lead, thanks to an impressive 12-0 run to start the period. Brice Scott put the Tigers on his back, and nearly led the Tigers to victory. With just 35 seconds left the in the game the Warhawks’ Eric Giles hit a shot to give them a 49-47 lead.

 

Kinsaul was Straughn’s leading scorer with 16 points. Scott tacked on 15 points for the Tigers in the championship game.

 

Jaylen Hinton led the Warhawks in the championship game with 25 points. Hinton’s efforts also earned him MVP honors for the tournament.

 

“We have only had four games and three practices, so I’m pleased with the effort,” Tigers’ head coach Rusty Andrews said. “We have to learn to take care of the ball against quick teams like Daleville. Overall, I was very pleased with them, but we turned the ball over too much in the third.”

 

The All-Tournament team included: Troy Fantroy (Pleasant Home), Richard Boggain and Travales Smith (Georgiana), Landon Carnley and Ethan Deal (Zion Chapel), Rollin Kinsaul and Brice Scott (Straughn) and Keon Ford, Debo Bloodshaw and tournament MVP Jaylen Hinton (Daleville).