Tigers escape Warriors’ upset bid, 68-66
After getting burned by multiple threepointers in the second half on Friday night, Logan Hullender and the Ringgold Tigers gave rival LFO a bit of its own medicine when it counted the most.
After seeing what had been a 16-point first-half lead transformed into as much as a seven-point second-half deficit, Hullender would hit three huge triples in the fourth quarter and just missed on a fourth. But Cade Nayadley was able to stick home a rebound with six seconds left and the Tigers were able to escape with a 68-66 victory over the Warriors.
LFO took a fast 7-2 lead, but the rest of the half would belong to Ringgold.
The Tigers would go on to what amounted to a 30-9 run over the next 13 minutes of action. LFO would manage just 12 more points the rest of the half, but an offbalance three-pointer at the buzzer by Patryk Gilbert would cut the lead down to 32-19 and set the tone for what would occur in the third quarter.
After going virtually silent in the first half, LFO point guard Ruddy Ware got scalding hot in the third quarter.
Ware had a hand in all of the Warriors’ points during a 15-4 run over the first four minutes of the period. He personally scored 13 of the points himself, including two threes, while he also made a nice assist to Gilbert as LFO closed the gap down to two.
The deficit was down to one after Andrew Brock buried a threepointer from the corner with 3:06 left in the period and Ware would put the Warriors back in the lead with a steal and a lay-up seconds later. Gilbert added an old fashioned three-point play at the 2:02 mark and LFO would go up 42-38.
The Tigers would come back to tie it at 42, but Brock would answer with another trey and the lead would change
hands three more times before the end of the quarter, the last time coming on another steal and lay-up by Ware just seconds ahead of the horn.
Down 50-46 to begin the final period, Ringgold would once again cut the lead down to one only to once again see Brock and Ware connect on backto-back treys. Jackson Herrod got into the act with a long-range bomb of his own and suddenly the LFO lead was up to 63-55 with 4:02 remaining in the game.
But in this back-andforth saga, the Tigers would get to write the final act of the script.
Hullender, who had been held in check in the first three-and-ahalf quarters of the game, suddenly found his range. He drained a three-ball with 3:05 to play and added another one on the Tigers’ ensuing possession, cutting LFO’s lead down to 65-63.
Jacob King would hit 1-of-2 free throws for the Warriors with 2:01 left, pushing the lead back to three points. But Hullender calmly shredded the nets on another three-pointer to tie the score at 66-all.
Both teams would miss from the free throw line over the next few seconds and LFO would dribble nearly a minute off the clock before getting an open look at a three. The shot would be off the mark, but King would grab a huge offensive rebound for his team, which eventually led to another open look at a three-pointer.
Once again though, LFO could not get the shot the fall and the Tigers would grab the rebound and call timeout with 20 seconds remaining. The ball would go into Hullender, whose three-point attempt found only iron.
But Nayadley was able to work his size to his advantage as he grabbed the rebound and dropped it back through the hoop for what would become the winning bucket.
LFO would get one final possession in the last 3.7 seconds. However, after hurrying the ball upcourt, the Warriors were not able to get off a shot before time expired.
Hullender finished with 17 points for the Tigers. Chandler Chastain and Ammon Murphy each had 12 points while Nayadley finished with 11.
Ware had 24 points to lead all scorers, 17 of those points coming in the third quarter alone. Gilbert added 13 points, followed by Brock with 11, King with eight and Herrod with seven.
Ringgold boys 59, North Murray 39
The Tigers got 14 points from Hullender last Tuesday in the subregion win. Corey Johnson finished with nine points, followed by eight from Chastain as 11 different Tigers got in the scoring column.
Ringgold boys 51, Murray County 29
On Saturday, Hullender against led the Tigers, this time with 20 points as they improved to 17-5 overall and 9-2 in region play. Blake Goldsmith added 15 points.
Ringgold will play its final two games at home this week. On Tuesday, they entertain Coahulla Creek before Murray County makes a return trip to David Moss Gymnasium for Senior Night on Friday.
It was a case of deja vu in the nightcap on Saturday.
After Milijah Williams hit a shot at the buzzer to send the Lady Warriors to the win over the Lady Mountaineers, Gilbert, one of the Warriors’ seniors, would bury a 3-pointer at the final horn to break a tie and lift his team to a 53-30 win over the Mountaineers.
LFO (8-12, 5-5) hit four 3-pointers in the game, three of which came in the final quarter. Gilbert finished with 18 points, followed by Ware with 13, King with 10 and Herrod with seven.