by Bart Moss for the FCT

Wayne Bracy Invitational at Deshler

Tharptown 61, Russellville 59

Trailing Russellville 47-44 at the end of the third quarter, the Tharptown Wildcats went on a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to take a 61-69 win from the Golden Tigers.  Tharptown improved their record to 12-2 heading into the second half of the season.  Russellville’s record is 5-12.

Tharptown led Russellville 19-15 at the end of the first quarter of play.  The Golden Tigers battled back and took a 32-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.  With the game tied at 44-44, Joshua Seal hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Russellville a 47-44 lead going into the final quarter of play.  As Tharptown began to pull away in the fourth quarter, Russellville battled back to 59-57 late in the contest.

Max Nolen led Tharptown with 18 points.  Nathan Chaney added 13 points.  Bailey Motes scored 11 points and Blake Gray pitched in ten points for the Wildcats.

Adonis Bailey led Russellville with 15 points.  Tyler Willis added 14 points for the Golden Tigers.

Tharptown 63, Lauderdale County 61

Heath Hatton went coast-to-coast and hit a layup with 1.5 seconds remaining on the clock to give the Tharptown Wildcats a thrilling 63-61 win to open the Bracy Invitational Tournament at Deshler High School.

Tharptown led 34-33 at the end of the first half and had extended their lead to 46-42 at the end of the third quarter but Lauderdale County battled back to tie the game before Hatton hit the game winner at the end.

Bailey Motes led the Wildcats with 19 points.  Max Nolen added 15 points.  Others scoring for Tharptown were Blake Gray (8), Drake Lawson (7), Eric Odell (5), Heath Hatton (4), and Nathan Chaney (3).

East Lawrence 91, Tharptown 73

Tharptown led the East Lawrence Eagle 18-17 at the end of the first quarter but would never be able to overcome a dominating East Lawrence second quarter.  The Eagles outscored the Wildcats 27-14 and took 44-32 lead into the locker room at halftime. Tharptown, however, could never mount a comeback against the talented East Lawrence Eagles.

Bailey Motes led the Wildcats with 24 points.  Max Nolen added 14 points and Blake Gray scored 11 points.  Others scoring for Tharptown were Heath Hatton (7), Nathan Chaney (5), Drake Lawson (5), Eric Odell (4) and Mikey Rosson (4).