By By Adam Robinson – sports editor
In their first game of the Escambia County tournament against Flomaton in Atmore, the T.R. Miller Tigers dropped to 0-5 with a 59-46 loss to the Hurricanes.
After a tight first quarter that saw the Hurricanes lead 15-13, Flomaton doubled up the Tigers 16-8 in the second quarter to hold a 10-point lead at the half at 31-21.
In the second half, the Tigers outscored Flomaton 15-10 in the third quarter to tie the game up, but trailed 41-36 heading into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, Flomaton used a 10-0 run in the quarter to outscore the Tigers 18-10 and claim the 13-point win over the Tigers by a score of 59-46.
T.R. Miller Tiger head coach Marc Edge said his team just needs to continue to work hard and goof things will happen.
Flomaton hit four 3-pointers in the first half, three in the first quarter and one in the second quarter.
After the first half, the Hurricanes only managed two 3-pointers the rest of the game, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth quarter.
Derek Riley led the Tigers in the game against Flomaton with 16 points. Corey Redfearn and Justin Payne each followed with seven points and Terez Lane added six points along with Keenan Pride in the loss for the Tigers.
In the game Friday night against Flomaton, Pride gave T.R. Miller an early 2-0 lead just four seconds into the game,
Flomaton took the lead on their first offensive possession as they drilled the first of three 3-pointers in the quarter to hold a 3-2 lead at the 7:37 mark.
The quarter alternated back-and-forth with neither team holding more than a four-point lead, but the Tigers trailed 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Flomaton opened with a 7-0 run to hold a 24-16 lead. Flomaton then held a 26-18 lead at the 4:22 mark, but Riley scored for the Tigers and added a free throw for a three-point play to cut the lead to 26-21 with 2:26 left in the half.
From there, the Hurricanes closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to hold a 10-point lead at the half, 31-21.
After trailing by 10 at the half, the Tigers opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 31-30 at the 5:00 mark.
Riley opened the quarter with a dunk and Terez Lane used a steal by Justin Payne to get a basket for the Tigers.
Corey Redfearn scored back-to-back points for the Tigers and Lane added a free throw in the run.
After cutting the lead to one point, Flomaton went back up 34-30. T.R. Miller once again tied the game up, this time at 36-36 with 3:05 left in the quarter, but the Canes held a 41-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Flomaton used a 10-0 run to hold a 56-42 lead late in the game after T.R. Miller cut the lead to three points and the Tigers fell 59-46 in their first game of the tournament.