Tonight, Red Level will travel to Excel for a chance to stay in the hunt to host the area tournament.

“It’s a very important road game for us, coming off that loss against Flomaton,” Red Level coach Fred Kelley said. “We know if we want to have any chance to host the area tournament, then we’ve got to beat Excel down there.”

On Tuesday night, the Tigers (9-10, 2-1 in Class 2A, Area 1) fell to Flomaton, 60-49, on the road.

Recently, Red Level has had several players go down with injuries. O.J. McGhee is scheduled to come back in the first week of February and Tyler Paulk will be out at least two weeks.

Kelley said the team has had to change its defense to compensate for losing Paulk.

“We had to change some defensive schemes because (Paulk) was very effective on the boards,” he said. “Now, we’ve had to put more pressure on the ball and give some relief to our people on the inside.”

Kelley said the main key for tonight is for his team to score some easy baskets in the paint.

“With three-deep off the bench, we’re going to have to be careful we don’t pick up fouls,” Kelley said. “The big thing is to get better shot selections for us. We’ve still got a chance; that’s what we’ve been preaching to the kids.”

Tip-off is immediately after the girls varsity game.