By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
Three weeks ago the T.R. Miller Tigers looked like a team that would sputter its way across the finish line.
That was when T.R. Miller was 9-10 and had not put consecutive wins together since the second week of the season.
Eight wins in a row later the picture is a lot more different and brighter after T.R. Miller ended its regular season with a 58-51 road win over the Monroe County Tigers Friday.
Five of the wins during the current streak have come on the road, which could be an important item since this week's Class 3A Area 1 Tournament will be played at Clarke County.
Down as many as five points in the opening quarter Friday, T.R. Miller (17-10) battled back in the second quarter to take a 26-24 halftime lead thanks to a layup off a steal, a pair of free throws and a three-pointer by Wade Jackson and a three-pointer late in the half by Terrelle Brooks.
T.R. Miller started to take control of the game midway through the third quarter after the host Tigers had tied the game at 32-32.
T.R. Miller scored the next eight points to reclaim the lead, this time for good, on a pair of buckets by Brandon Andrews and Jackson.
The defense by the visiting Tigers was also a key item in the second half surge, as T.R. Miller forced Monroe County into 15 second half turnovers.
Free throws were also huge where the visiting Tigers outscored Monroe County 20-6 and had a 30-11 edge in attempts. Jackson was a big part of that, as he went 10-for-13 from the free throw line for the game and five-for-six in the fourth quarter on his way to a game high 24 points.
T.R. Miller's junior varsity ended its season with a 16-2 record after it rallied to beat Monroe County 45-42.
The Tigers, who trailed by 11 points after the first quarter and were still down by six headed into the final frame, got 19 points from Terry Hetherington and 11 from David Payne.
T.R. Miller will get its fourth
See TIGERS Page 3B
encounter of the season against W.S. Neal in Friday's Class 3A Area 1 Tournament to be played at Clarke County at 6 p.m. The Tigers won the first three encounters.
At Monroe County
T.R. Miller 10 16 14 18 – 58
Monroe County 14 10 10 17 – 51
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Jackson 4-2-10-24; Andrews 4-1-2-13; Jo. Knight 2-0-7-11; Brooks 1-1-0-5; Lucas 2-0-1-5 (Totals: 13-4-20-58)
MONROE COUNTY (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) T. Armstrong 6-0-4-16; Jones 5-0-0-10; Stallworth 4-0-1-9; Lee 1-1-1-6; Nettles 3-0-0-6; Stunton 1-0-0-2; D. Armstrong 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 21-1-6-51)
Junior varsity
T.R. Miller 6 14 9 16 – 45
Monroe County 17 4 14 7 – 42
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Hetherington 9-0-1-19; D. Payne 5-0-1-11; Cunningham 3-0-0-6; Watson 0-1-2-5; Fountain 2-0-0-4 (Totals: 19-1-4-45)
MONROE COUNTY (2FG-3FG-Ft-TP) C. Patrick 2-2-1-11; Richardson 2-0-2-6; Clausell 3-0-0-6; Poindexter 2-0-1-5; Bryant 1-1-0-5; Brown 2-0-0-4; Moore 1-0-0-2; L. Patrick 1-0-0-2; Wilson 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 14-3-5-42)
Tigers down Flomaton
T.R. Miller completed a three-game season sweep of the Flomaton Hurricanes Tuesday with a 67-55 win at Flomaton.
While T.R. Miller led from start to finish, the Hurricanes were a much more stubborn foe than they were in the first two encounters where T.R. Miller won 64-37 at the Escambia County Tournament and 46-25 at Brewton.
The Tigers edged ahead 15-11 through one quarter behind five points from Jordan Knight. Knight had six of his game high 20 points in the second quarter and Wade Jackson added five more, as T.R. Miller widened its lead to 35-27 by halftime.
Flomaton (3-22) was able to stay within striking distance because of 11 points from Banks and seven from Scott Walton in the first half. While T.R. Miller limited Dominique Banks to just three additional points in the second half, Walton kept Flomaton close with 12 of his 19 over the last two quarters.
Knight continued his solid game in the third quarter with a couple more buckets and six more points, as T.R. Miller widened its lead to 48-37.
Jackson delivered the dagger in the fourth quarter when he nailed three three-pointers and 11 of his 16 points for the game.
As a team, the Tigers hit a season high nine three-pointers.
T.R. Miller's junior varsity rolled past Flomaton 51-24. Alaric Watson knocked in 10 points to lead the Tigers, while Terry Hetherington added eight.
At Flomaton
T.R. Miller 15 20 13 17 – 67
Flomaton 11 16 10 18 – 55
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Jo. Knight 3-3-5-20; Jackson 0-4-4-16; Andrews 3-2-1-13; Brooks 4-0-1-9; Lucas 1-0-1-3; Je. Knight 1-0-0-2; Curry 1-0-0-2; Walker 0-0-1-1; Powell 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 13-9-14-67)
FLOMATON (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Walton 4-2-5-19; Banks 6-0-2-14; Simpson 4-1-2-13; Ellis 0-0-7-7; Brooks 0-0-2-2 (Totals: 14-3-18-55)
Junior varsity
T.R. Miller 16 13 18 14 – 51
Flomaton 5 6 3 8 – 24
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Watson 5-0-0-10; Hetherington 1-2-0-8; Powell 3-0-0-6; Cunningham 2-0-1-5; Arauz 0-1-2-5; Lane 1-1-0-5; D. Payne 2-0-0-4; Redfern 2-0-0-4; Bradley 1-0-0-2; J. Payne 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 18-4-3-51)
FLOMATON (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Chavers 3-1-1-10; Spears 1-0-2-4; Dixon 1-0-2-4; Bradley 0-0-2-2; Ross 1-0-0-2; Berry 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 7-1-7-24)