By BY BRUCE HIXON – sports editor
It may not have been as flashy or as dominating a performance as their first encounter seven days earlier, but the end result was the same when the T.R. Miller Tigers cruised past the Northview, Fla. Chiefs Friday 67-45.
The Tigers (2-1) blew out the Chiefs 79-37 the previous week in Florida, but it took T.R. Miller well into the second half to secure the rematch.
Eleven T.R. Miller players cracked the scoring column although only Terrelle Brooks cracked double digits with 15.
The Tigers built a 14-7 lead through one quarter and a 31-17 halftime edge despite the fact they shot just 33 percent (10-for-30) in the first half. T.R. Miller heated up considerably in the second half when it hit 16 of 26 shots (62 percent). T.R. Miller also had a dominating 39-22 edge on the boards led by 10 rebounds by Kelly Stallworth and nine from Teras Fountain.
The Tigers had just a 21-15 lead with three minutes left in the half when they opened up some breathing room. Fountain scored from inside and Brooks scored on a fastbreak. Two free throws by Brandon Andrews were followed by a steal and dunk by Wade Jackson and a bucket by Andrews off another steal by Jackson. Just like that the Tigers' lead had grown to 31-17 by halftime.
It was still a 14-point lead of 35-21 four minutes into the second half when Brooks hit two three-pointers and scored another bucket off a steal during a two-minute stretch that saw the lead grow to a commanding bulge of 45-25.
Northview was virtually a one-man show. The Chiefs got 30 points by Nakita Myles, but just 13 points from the rest of their roster.
T.R. Miller's junior varsity also got its second win over Northview within a week, as it rolled past the Chiefs 64-25. Joe McCorvey tallied 11 points to lead the Tigers, while Corey Redfern added 10.
The annual Escambia County Tournament kicks off at T.R. Miller Thursday. The Tigers will face Flomaton Thursday, W.S. Neal Friday and Escambia County Saturday. All three of the Tigers' contests are at 7:30 p.m.
At T.R. Miller
Northview 7 10 15 11 – 43
T.R. Miller 14 17 20 16 – 67
NORTHVIEW (2FG-3FG-Ft-TP) Myles 11-2-2-30; Austin 2-1-0-7; Donaldson 2-0-0-4; Thomas 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 16-3-2-43)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Brooks 4-2-1-15; Stallworth 3-0-3-9; Curry 4-0-0-8; Payne 3-0-1-7; Fountain 3-0-0-6; Andrews 2-0-2-6; Hetherington 0-0-4-4; Jackson 2-0-0-4; Cunningham 1-0-1-3; Middleton 1-0-1-3; Arauz 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 24-2-13-67)
Junior Varsity
Northview 6 2 12 5 – 25
T.R. Miller 9 21 16 18 – 64
NORTHVIEW (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Hunter 4-0-0-8; Killam 2-0-3-7; Redmond 1-1-1-6; Bellamy 1-0-0-2; Sheets 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 9-1-4-25)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) McCorvey 5-0-1-11; Redfern 5-0-0-10; Shufford 3-1-0-9; T. Lane 3-0-2-8; Powell 2-1-0-7; Riley 2-1-0-7; Banks 2-0-0-4; Watson 2-0-0-4; M. Lane 2-0-0-4 (Totals: 26-3-3-64)
Tigers fall to UMS-Wright
T.R. Miller never found its offensive or defensive groove, as it was shut down by the visiting UMS-Wright Bulldogs 58-36 Tuesday.
The Tigers shot just 31 percent from the field (13-for-41) and it took a late charge to get the figure that high. T.R. Miller hit just seven of 30 shots (23 percent) through three quarters.
While UMS-Wright (7-3) did not shoot a blistering pace, it was a much more effective 44 percent from the field (18-for-41).
The big key came in the third quarter where UMS-Wright hit six of its first seven shots to break the game open. Meanwhile the Tigers hit just one of 10 shots.
T.R. Miller's only lead in the game was the 2-0 advantage Wade Jackson gave them with a field goal in the first minute of the game.
UMS-Wright opened up an 11-5 lead in the opening quarter, but the Tigers rallied in the first two minutes of the second quarter. Buckets by Jordan Knight and Kelly Stallworth and two free throws by Brandon Andrews trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 13-11.
Things quickly went downhill from there. Matt Zieman drained two three-pointers and added another bucket from inside the lane in a three-minute stretch that helped UMS-Wright increase its lead to 28-17 by halftime.
That margin grew to 33-17 when Daniel Crane hit a three-pointer and Omar Sayyad scored from inside the lane in the first minute of the third quarter.
A bucket by Knight moments later turned out to be the lone field goal T.R. Miller made that period. It also scored just one additional point, a free throw by Teras Fountain. By that point UMS-Wright had increased its lead to 41-20 and it stayed above 20 points the rest of the way.
T.R. Miller's junior varsity suffered its first loss of the season when it dropped a 38-35 decision to UMS-Wright.
Derrick Riley and Alaric Watson both scored nine points to pace the Tigers.
At T.R. Miller
UMS-Wright 11 17 17 13 - 58
T.R. Miller 5 12 3 16 - 36
UMS-WRIGHT (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Gilmore 5-0-6-16; Newman 3-0-5-11; Crane 1-2-2-10; Zieman 1-2-1-9; Battiste 1-0-2-4; Sayyad 2-0-0-4; Terry 2-0-0-4 (Totals: 15-3-19-58)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Hetherington 0-2-0-6; Knight 3-0-0-6; Brooks 2-0-2-6; Payne 1-1-0-5; Jackson 2-0-1-5; Stallworth 1-0-0-2; Andrews 0-0-2-2; Walker 1-0-0-2; Arauz 0-0-1-1; Fountain 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 10-3-7-36)
Junior varsity
UMS-Wright 10 12 5 11 - 38
T.R. Miller 7 10 13 5 - 35
UMS-WRIGHT (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Zieman 4-1-1-12; Rouse 4-0-0-8; Pears 2-0-2-6; Smith 0-1-0-3; Meacham 0-1-0-3; Brown 1-0-0-2; Caislet 1-0-0-2; Sturclivant 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 13-3-3-38)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Riley 3-1-0-9; Watson 3-1-0-9; McCorvey 3-0-0-6; T. Lane 1-1-0-5; M. Lane 2-0-0-4; Redfern 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 13-3-3-35)