Ringgold boys roar to 3-0 start
After beating Dade County to begin their season last Saturday, the Ringgold Tigers improved to 3-0 after a pair of wins in the Ridgeland Thanksgiving Tournament last week.
The Tigers faced the host Panthers in the tournament finale on Friday and needed one final run late to pull out a 50-42 victory.
Ridgeland managed just one point in the opening quarter and did not connect from the field until a Nathan Carver 3-pointer with 6:54 left in the second quarter. Carver would drain another three shortly thereafter, pulling the Panthers to within six at 13-7.
However, the Tigers responded in a big way as they closed out the quarter on an 19-8 run that gave them what looked to be a seemingly comfortable 32-15 advantage at the break.
The Panthers would answer the bell in the third quarter, reeling off 12 straight points to slice the gap down to five. Nate Nation would finally end the scoreless drought for the Tigers with a basket, but Ridgeland would continue to chip away, pulling to within 36-33 by the end of the third.
Another six-point spurt by Ringgold pushed the lead back to nine, but Ridgeland would fight back to again chop it down to three at 43-40 on Carver’s fifth 3-pointer of the night
The Panthers, though, would never get any closer. Ringgold scored two consecutive buckets, and then took the air out of the ball, draining nearly two minutes off the clock on one possession before finally picking up the win.
Nine different players scored for the Tigers, led by 11 points from Jackson House. Cade Nayadley picked up eight and Chandler Chastain added seven.
Markeith Montgomery had 10 points for Ridgeland (1-1), while Christian Battle added six.
Ringgold boys 42, Notre Dame 29
The Tigers won their opening game in the tournament last Tuesday. After allowing 15 points in the first quarter, Ringgold held the Irish to just 14 total points in the final three quarters.
Nation and Blake Goldsmith each had nine points in the win, while Nayadley added seven for the Tigers.
Ridgeland 65, Murray County 50
Up by just two points, 32-30, at halftime on Wednesday, the Panthers held the Indians to just 20 points in the second half and pulled away for a season-opening win.
Battle poured in a game-high 22 points for the Panthers in the victory. Fred Norman, Jr. added 15 points. Eric Byrd finished with 12 and Montgomery picked up eight.
Ringgold will host Northwest Whitfield in a non-region game on Tuesday, while Ridgeland will be at home to face Gilmer in the Region 6-AAAA opener.