Armorel outscores Cross Co. by 23 in second half to win

ARMOREL — The Armorel Tigers rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit, Wednesday night, to narrowly defeat 1A/2A blended conference, 58-54.

The Tigers outscored the Thunderbirds, 41-18, in the second half to pull out the victory.

“Well, first of all, we came to together and fought as a team and we have been through this kind of adversity before and we know how to come together and fight through it because it was a good win and we came together,” said Armorel captain Monroe Carr, who scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. “Playing through this kind of game and being able to fight through the adversity and come back from such a big deficit, that shows what kind of team we are and how good we can be… The atmosphere was great and I give credit to my teammates for fighting back to that last buzzer, but first and foremost all the glory goes to God. This game reflects back on one of my favorite verses, Luke 1:37 ‘For with God nothing will be impossible.’”

Tigers senior Weston Hollingsead helped the Armorel take an early 3-0 lead but the Thunderbirds went on a 20-4 run to end the first quarter.

Deon Sellers, Tigers junior forward, picked up his fourth foul with 2:56 left to go in the first half as the Tigers trailed 29-13.

Carr knocked down a free throw after being nailed to the ground on a fast break opportunity by several Thunderbird players with 41.6 seconds left in the half. The Tigers trailed 35-17.

With 7.6 seconds left in the quarter, a Tiger fan was ejected from the game after yelling at a referee. As the lone fan was escorted out, the rest of the Tiger faithful applauded and continued to boo the official.

The Thunderbirds took a 36-17 lead into the half.

AHS, however, took over the second half as they came out of halftime with full-court pressure, cutting the Thunderbirds' lead to 15 points. Carr then sent a Thunderbird player's shot out of bounds with 7:02 left in the third quarter. The Tigers' pressure then rattled the Thunderbirds as they were hit with a 10-second call, and the Tigers trailed 36-25 with less than six minutes left to go in the game. Senior Matt Wyatt the found Hollingsead behind the three-point line with 5:33 left to go in the quarter to pull within eight points of Cross County.

Hollingsead then connected on another three-point basket with 4:50 left in the third, and the Tigers trailed 38-31.

Tiger senior Brock Elliott hit one of two from the line with 34.6 seconds left to make the game, 44-37, heading into the final quarter.

Wyatt drained a Tigers' three-point basket to pull within five points with less than six minutes left to go in the game.

The Tigers took a one-point lead with 3:40 left to go after Elliott pulled up on a fast break and banked in a jumper.

Tiger senior Brett Alan Harris was whistled for his fifth foul with 2:36 left to go in the game.

The turning point in the game came with 1:02 left after Thunderbird junior Hunter Like fouled Hollingsead on a three-pointer attempt. Like was then issued a technical after disagreeing with the call and Thunderbirds head coach Tony Jones then argued with the referee, with no technical called. Hollingsead drained three of the five free-throw attempts to give the Tigers a two-point lead. AHS received the ball back after the free throws and Wyatt was fouled with 50.2 seconds left. Wyatt gave the Tigers a three-point lead.

With less than 10 seconds remaining Carr was going up for a dunk that would put the game away. However, he’d get drilled again by the Thunderbirds. The ball, however, went in but he missed the and-one opportunity.

Carr led the team with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and an assist. Hollingsead chipped in 16 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Elliot and Wyatt both added 11 points, apiece.

Tigers head coach Gary Burnside said, “The kids developed a little bit more confidence. A little bit more of a belief in themselves and in each other and that’s what we’ve been working to do. We had a tough one last night (on the road against Bay), came up a basket or two short. I told them at halftime, we cut into it and can’t hit a 20-point shot but we’ve got to be able to stop them and we held them to eight points in the third and 10 points in the fourth. That’s a pretty good effort defensively. For the most part, that's the type of thing we’re going to have to do. Offensively, we were able to press a little bit and get transition baskets and make some better decisions early on. I told them at halftime, and we got a little bit before halftime about wanting to look and gripe and complain about some of the things going on. I told them at halftime, not another look, thought or anything about it because I know if we could maintain and sustain our composure, then we would have a chance. The kids really worked hard together. Had some foul trouble and had some other kids come in and step up and really do well and take care of the ball. I’m extremely proud of them and I think big confidence booster for them. They shot the ball really well last night, had they not, that game wouldn’t have even been close. They shot it pretty well tonight. I think for Weston [Hollingsead], he’s just a streaky shooter. He shoots it well. When his attitude's right and his confidence is up when he’s playing and working, he’s a heck of a player and does a heck of a job for us. We just need him to stay focused and on track. Matt [Wyatt] shoots it well at times. What we got to do right now is we’re not getting any points in the paint much. And we’ve got to get that issue straightened out and that’s something we did better earlier.”

The Tigers will play the Hayti Indians Thursday for Senior Night. Burnside added, “Senior night, it's kind of a sad time for me. I hate to see these guys go. It's just been a couple years but they're a great group. There’s three or four that haven’t played before this year and they're good kids too. But the four or five that’s been here through last year and this year has been through a lot and has made a lot of progress. Monroe [Carr], Brock [Elliott], Weston [Hollingsead] and Matt [Wyatt] are just great kids. Really going to miss some talented athletes and I just hope for them that we can finish from sometime here until March and give them the opportunity to experience some of the things I think they deserve and I think they can.”

The Tigers will host the districts and regionals tournaments after the regular season concludes, and Burnside says it will be a plus for his team and the school to host the tournaments.

“It will definitely be a plus here. I appreciate the administration bidding and taking the time. It is definitely going to be a lot of time and a lot of work for a lot of folks but we absolutely appreciate the opportunity to have the districts and regionals here and are looking forward to it,” Burnside explained.

Cross County 35, Lady Tigers 31

The Armorel Lady Tigers were unable to score down the stretch, and the Cross County Lady Thunderbirds came away with a 35-31 victory, Wednesday.

The Lady Tigers tied the game at 31 with 2:37 left in the game, after senior McKinley Carr scored on a missed free-throw attempt by Ayerielle Appleton.

Appleton then missed another free throw attempt with 1:45 left in the game. This time Carr was issued her fifth foul after being called for going over the back of a Lady Thunderbird.

The Tigers had a chance to tie the game up with 17.4 left after Lady Tigers head coach Shannon Miller called for a timeout as they trailed 33-31.

Out of the timeout, the Lady Tigers ran over 10 seconds off the clock before sophomore guard McKenzie Tillman turned the ball over.

Thunderbird junior guard Kalianna Hill was fouled with 2.7 seconds left and drained both free throw attempts to seal a 35-31 victory for the Lady Thunderbirds. The Lady Tigers shot 2 of 11 from the free throw line on the night.

Coach Miller said, “We are playing five sophomores out of our seven players right now. Ayrielle is a junior and McKinley is a senior and we need them to kind of step up in leadership roles on and off the court. And be ready to go, and to basically help guide these sophomores along. These sophomores have really stepped up and they have to take care of the basketball, play defense and have to score. Because we are having troubles scoring…Basically, we need our upperclassmen to step up…Rachel and Macie, our other two seniors, kind of providing leadership on the bench and in practice…Tonight what got us was our free throws.”

Lady Tiger sophomore Briley Miller had a team-high 14 points in loss.

“[Briley] had 10 against Marked Tree, six against Bay, which was our leading scorer, and then she had 14 [Wednesday night]. So she’s kind of had to step up and knock down some shots. We have to get points from somebody and she works really hard in the gym on her shot and puts in extra time and it’s starting to pay off a little bit. We just have to have points and we’ve got to have made and she’s been making them,” explained Miller.