Pleasant Home’s Ethan King helped lead his team to a 45-40 win over Straughn Tuesday night, scoring 13 points in the second half.

Straughn held the Eagles to only 11 points in the first half. In the second half, King was 8-of-8 at the free throw line, making two crucial baskets with less than 20 seconds left to help clinch the win.

“We didn’t get in the 80s, but we sure shot enough to get there,” Pleasant Home coach Jerry Davis said. “If we make it a ‘rat race,’ we have a chance. They did a good job of executing.

“(Straughn) did a good job in their first game,” he said. “It makes a difference to be out there on the floor.”

In the first quarter, Straughn (0-1) came out applying pressure on Pleasant Home’s perimeter game.

The Eagles (4-1) managed to only score two points at the end of the first quarter. Straughn managed nine.

“We just didn’t hit anything,” Davis said about his team’s shooting. “Ethan did a great job at the free-throw line. We didn’t make free throws or shots. We played hard and that’s all I asked.”

Pleasant Home came out in the third quarter and quickly put up 17 points, compared to Straughn’s eight.

Even though down by four points, Straughn picked up the pace in the fourth quarter and score eight quick points to retake a 32-31 lead.

With less than four minutes left in the game, Pleasant Home gained momentum and control of the game to seal the win.

“We had a tough draw to have to play them the first game,” Straughn coach Todd Reynolds said. “We didn’t play well enough to win. We made tremendous strides that game.

“We let them hurt us on the boards,” he said. “You aren’t going to walk into Pleasant Home and expect to ‘walk the dog’ on them.”

Pleasant Home’s Cory Sims also had a good night for his team, scoring 11 points.

Straughn’s James Byrd and C.J. Christopher led the Tigers with 12 points apiece.

Pleasant Home’s next game will be on Thursday night in Andalusia.

Straughn girls 51,

Pleasant Home girls 34

Straughn’s Kimberly Teel led her team in scoring with 18 points in the 17-point win over Pleasant Home Tuesday night.

The Lady Tigers (4-0) strutted out to a 26-13 lead in the second quarter with 3:11 left in the half.

At halftime, the score was 28-18. In the first half, Straughn was 4-of-8 at the free throw line, compared to the Lady Eagles’ 10-of-14.

Straughn added to its lead in the third quarter, scoring 19 points compared to Pleasant Home’s six.

Straughn’s Kayla Teel also had a good night for the Lady Tigers, scoring 12 points.

Pleasant Home’s Brentin Fuller led her team in scoring with 10 points. Kendra Bryan and Raven Woods had seven points apiece.

“I thought we played well on the defensive side of the ball,” Straughn coach Scott Kinsaul said. “We were ready to play after our tournament and this is always a big game for us. We played well.”