By By Adam Robinson – Sports Editor
The T.R. Miller boys basketball continued its six-game winning streak with two wins in the Choctawhatchee Area Playground Shootout Wednesday and Thursday night.
The Tigers improved to 7-1 on the season as they defeated Pine Forest 59-46 Wednesday night and tournament host Choctaw 51-42 Thursday night.
T.R. Miller 59, Pine Forest 46
The T.R. Miller boys basketball team did not get to have much time with their new Christmas toys on Tuesday or Wednesday as they had to go to bed early Tuesday night for an early wake-up call Wednesday morning.
The Tigers were given a great Christmas present from the Choctawhatchee Playground Area Shootout Christmas Tournament as they drew an 8:30 a.m. Wednesday game against Pine Forest.
Not only was the game bright and early for the Tigers, but also in order to get to the game on time, the Tigers had to depart from Brewton at 5:45 a.m.
The boys must have got plenty of rest as they improved to 6-1 on the season Wednesday in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, with a 59-46 win over Pine Forest from Florida.
Terry Hetherington led the Tigers with 17 points as Jordan Knight added 16 and Teras Fountain poured in 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help with the win.
After being outscored 11-5 in the first quarter, T.R. Miller exploded for 20 points in the second quarter and held Pine Forest to only seven points to hold a 25-18 lead at the half.
The Tigers then went on to score 34 points in the second half while holding Pine Forest to 18 to take the 13-point win, 59-46 in the first round of the tournament.
T.R. Miller 51, Choctaw 42
In the Tigers Thursday night game against tourney host Choctaw, the Tigers trailed by one point at 40-39 with exactly three minutes to go in the game before going on a 12-2 run over those final three minutes to defeat the Indians of Choctaw 51-42 Thursday night in the second round of the tournament.
Choctaw's only points of the final three minutes came with 4.2 seconds left in the game.
After falling behind 40-39, T.R. Miller's Brandon Andrews, just like in his game winning 3-pointer against Monroeville, gave the Tigers a 42-40 lead on a 3-pointer with 2:38 left in the game. Andrews finished with 12 points in the game and nine in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers never looked back and frustrated the Indians with defensive over the final three minutes and Teras Fountain came up with a big steal at the 2:11 mark and other Tigers played great defense during the 12-0 run.
Five of T.R. Millers six scorers scored in the last 2:38 of the game as the Tigers jumped out to the 11-point lead, the biggest lead in the game as T.R. Miller's biggest lead prior was six points with 1:40 left before the half. The Tigers never trailed by more than four points in the game and that was with 1:43 left in the first quarter.
Three Tigers scored in double figures in the game as Terry Hetherington led the Tigers with 15 points. Jordan Knight and Brandon Andrews finished with 14 and 12 points respectively.
After falling behind by their largest deficit in the game at 9-5 with 1:43 left in the first, the Tigers closed the score to 9-7 with 1:20 left in the first and trailed by two at the end of the quarter.
The Tigers tied the game at 9-9 and after alternating buckets the Tigers held a 14-13 lead with 4:26 left before half before building a 19-13 lead after a 7-0 run.
Choctaw close the lead after a 5-0 run of their own as Miller held a 19-18 lead at the half.
T.R. Miller came out of the half and built a 23-18 lead with 6:39 left in the third before Choctaw took a 24-23 lead with 5:09 left.
After tying the game at 30-all with 2:06 left, Choctaw took a 32-30 lead at the end of the quarter.
After tying the game at 32-32, Choctaw took a 35-32 lead with 6:52 left as the game was tied at 37-37 and 39-39 before a free throw with 3:00 left gave the Indians a 40-39 lead before the Tigers took over the game and went on to the 51-42 win.
With the win, the Tigers advanced to the semifinals of the tournament as was scheduled to play Siegel of Tennessee Friday night.
See Wednesday's Brewton Standard for results.