The Red Level High School varsity boys’ basketball team had a successful regular season and are gearing up to play in the Class 1A, Area 3 tournament beginning today in Georgiana.

“We haven’t won as many game as we wanted” Red Level head coach Allen Catrett said. “We play a tough schedule against some bigger schools. Six of our losses have been to 4A schools, two have been to 2A and two more have been to Georgiana, who has only lost one game this season.”

Red Level (13-14) finished tied for second place in their area which features Georgiana, McKenzie and J.F. Shields.

Since losing a close game to Straughn on Jan. 25, Red Level has won five of their last six games as they head into the area tournament.

“You want to see improvement as the season goes along and I thought we showed that this season,” Catrett said. “We needed to see that with the number of seniors we have. We have six guys that are in rotation and they have all been playing for the past three years.”

In area play, the Tigers kicked it off with a 56-39 victory over McKenzie, but then fell to J.F. Shields 39-38.

The Tigers fell to 1-2 in area play a few days later when they fell to top-seeded Georgiana 71-48.

Red Level evened back out in area play with a 56-39 victory over McKenzie.

After the win against McKenzie, the Tigers dropped another game against Georgiana. Red Level then came up on the short end of a 47-40 contest against Class 4A Straughn.

Red Level’s play picked up a bit following the close game against Straughn, and that sparked a three-game winning streak for the Tigers.

During the streak, Red Level knocked off Kinston 44-37, J.F. Shields 54-41 and Florala 59-34.

Red Level then lost to New Brockton before defeating Pleasant Home and Brantley to end the regular season.

The win over Pleasant Home ended a seven-game win streak that the Eagles had going, and the win over J.F. Shields placed the Tigers in tie for second place in the region.

Heading into the playoffs, Catrett said that the team will need their senior leaders.

“We have six seniors on the team and we need to rely on that experience,” Catrett said. “I’ve seen the growth out of them. We are finishing games that we haven’t been able to in the past. At this point, it’s a one-and-done season, and for most of these guys there is no next year. We have just have to come into the playoffs focused. We need to have good defense, limit turnovers, control the boards and make shots.”

Red Level begins first round play of the Class 1A, Area 3 tournament today at 5 p.m., in Georgiana. The Tigers will take on J.F. Shields.