Red Bay comeback falls just short
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
The Red Bay Tigers couldn’t overcome what their coach called their “worst half of the year,” but John Torisky promised the Tigers will be back: Red Bay boys basketball is no longer an afterthought.
The Tigers’ season came to an end with a gritty comeback attempt that fell just short. They lost to the Mars Hill Panthers 62-58.
“It was our worst half of basketball all year,” said Torisky. “I think the new environment and the jitters of being here for the first time in over two decades overwhelmed us early.”
Mars Hill jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes of the first quarter. The Panthers led 13-4 at the end of the quarter. Mars Hill led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter, with the Panthers biggest lead coming at the end of an 8-0 run to extend the Panthers’ lead to 21-5 with 4:12 to go in the half. Braden Ray scored six straight points to close out the first half and cut the Panthers lead to 11, 24-13, at halftime.
In the second half Gath Weatherford, who struggled to score early, banked in a three-pointer and hit another in back-to-back buckets to cut Mars Hill’s lead to nine, 32-23.
The Panthers, however, would hit another spurt, this time a 9-0 run, to extend their lead to 43-27 late in the third quarter. Mars Hill led 46-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Red Bay, however, was not ready to throw in the towel.
“We’ve been making late comebacks all year,” said Torisky. “This team has a resiliency that I haven’t seen in teams. There is no quit in them. They keep hustling. They keep playing.
“They are never out of a game. Tonight was no different. We just get over the hump.”
Red Bay outscored Mars Hill 26-16 in the fourth quarter. Colton Corum hit a jumper with 5:34 to go to make it a 10-point game, 50-40. The Tigers cut the lead to six with 3:42 to go in the game when Corum hit a layup and free throw after being fouled. Red Bay cut the lead to two points on a big steal and layup by Jalen Vinson with 25 seconds to play in the game.
That was as close as the Tigers could get.
“Red Bay is a hard team to beat,” said Mars Hill coach Jim Smith. “They play their guts out.”
The Tigers will return their entire starting lineup next year, and Torisky is already looking forward.
“It hurts to lose,” he said. “But these guys will be back. They love the game, and they are hard workers.”
Weatherford led the Tigers with 20 points. He was followed by Clay Allison with 13 points. Ray finished the game with 11 points. Corum scored seven points and Peyton Green three points. Vinson and Tanner Hamilton finished the game with two points each.
Red Bay advances to regionals for first time since 1995
The loss at regionals came after the Red Bay Tigers made it to the Northwest Regional Tournament for the first time since 1995.
The Tigers established a big early lead over Tarrant in their 2A subregion game and went on to win 60-47 Feb. 13.
“We started the game off well by making our first four shots, allowing us to get a big lead early,” said Torisky. “Our boys came out focused on the task at hand, and we were able to hold off their runs with some clutch shooting. It also helped that we had a great crowd. It was as close to a home game as you can have in Birmingham.”
The big lead Torisky was referring to was the 23-9 first quarter lead the Tigers had over Tarrant. Tarrant closed the gap a bit in the second quarter, outscoring Red Bay 14-10 to give the Tigers a 34-25 halftime lead.
Red Bay extended the lead to 49-39 in the third quarter and held on in the fourth quarter for the win.
Weatherford led Red Bay with 23 points. Corum added 15 points. Ray finished the game with eight points, Allison with five points, Green four points, Hunter Bays three points and Hamilton two points.
