Strong finish helps Tigers snap losing streak

By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
BELGREEN – Sophomore guard Jesse James scored all 14 of his points in the second half, including seven key free throws in the fourth quarter, as Red Bay snapped a five-game losing skid with Friday's 55-40 win over Belgreen.
"This was a big win for us," said Red Bay coach Greg Cash, whose Tigers (2-5) had not tasted victory since the season-opener against Tharptown on November 20. "We won that first one, and then we lost five in a row. We really needed a win tonight just to remember what it feels like. I think our guys forgot how to act when they win. We had to remind them it's okay to smile."
The Tigers had plenty to smile about after knocking down 17 free throws in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the Bulldogs 23-10 to pull away. After a basket by Belgreen's Kyle Warren made it 44-40 with 1:10 remaining, Red Bay scored the final 11 points of the game to cap off a strong second-half performance.
"We had a heart-to-heart at halftime," Cash said. "I was pretty vocal about some things, not necessarily what we were doing but how we were doing it.
"The biggest thing for us tonight was getting 23 points from the foul line. That was huge. We made some big free throws down the stretch, and that helped us stay in front."
Part of Cash's halftime speech focused on stopping Warren, whose 13 first-half points included a running 30-footer at the buzzer to cut Red Bay's lead to 21-19.
"[Warren] had a great game tonight, and he's a really good player," Cash said. "At halftime, I just asked our guys, 'Who's going to stop him? Who wants him?' Jesse said he wanted to guard him, and I thought he did a good job on him in the second half."
James helped hold Warren to five points after halftime, but Belgreen (4-5) still managed to grab a one-point lead at 27-26 on a three-pointer by Lucas Albert late in the third quarter.
Pablo Makepeace and James responded with back-to-back treys to put Red Bay back on top by five, but a three by Belgreen's Shane Fretwell made it 32-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
"We haven't been shooting the ball well this year, but we hit a couple of threes there in the third quarter that were pretty big," Cash said. "They got hot, and we were at least able to match them."
The Bulldogs took their final lead at 33-32 on a basket by Warren with 7:00 remaining, but Chris Frame made two free throws to spark a 9-2 run by Red Bay. Grant Fancher capped the run with a basket to make it 42-34 midway through the fourth, and the Tigers put the game away at the foul line.
Frame finished with 10 points, and Makepeace and Fancher each added nine.
Warren led all scorers with 18 points. Fretwell added nine for Belgreen, and Albert had seven.