With a 65-45 win over Highland Home last Friday night, the Luverne Tigers finished second in the area, with an overall season record of 12-14 and an area record of 5-3.

&#8220We'll have to play Highland Home again during the first round of the area tournament in Elba,” Luverne Tigers' assistant coach Andre Parks said. &#8220Elba won the area title.”

Highland Home is third in the area, and New Brockton is fourth.

By the end of the first half, Luverne was leading the Flying Squadron 33-19.

The Tigers never gave up that lead the rest of the game.

Luverne's Gary Franklin thrilled the crowd with two slam dunks in a row with 4:25 left in the game, putting the Tigers up 53-35.

High scorers for Luverne were Fred Hawkins with 24 points, Gary Franklin with 17 points and six steals, and Marco Jones with 11. Brezman Lowery pulled down 13 rebounds for the Tigers, while Stoney Jackson had nine.

High scorers for Highland Home were Deymond Sankey with 12 points, Carnell Bryant with 11 points and Arico Harris with nine. Highland Home's Dallas Arrington added six points for the game, plus several steals and good defensive action.

&#8220We kept up our intensity and knew we couldn't lose,” Luverne's Marco Jones, a junior, said. Jones also had a slam dunk during the third quarter of the game.

&#8220We jumped out in front and stayed in front,” he said.