Right out of the gate, Red Level just wanted the win a lot more than Millry on Saturday night.

The Tigers defeated Millry 74-54 in the Class 2A South Sub-Regional tournament to earn their seventh ticket to the South Regional tournament this week at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Center.

On Wednesday, Red Level will face Barbour County in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Red Level shot out to a 6-0 run early in the first to force Millry to take a time out with 5:37 left in the first quarter.

Red Level’s pass execution on the inside was too much for Millry as they outscored the visiting Wildcats 23-8 in the first quarter.

“We knew we had to come out and establish home court advantage,” Red Level coach Fred Kelley said. “We’ve been waiting for this game with the weather, and praise the Lord we were able to get it in (Saturday night). The whole bench, everybody played hard.”

By halftime, Red Level increased its lead to 38-22.

In the second half, the Tigers (17-11) didn’t let up at all outscoring the Wildcats 19-15 in the third quarter. In the fourth, both teams tied at scoring 17 points each.

Senior Trey Salter led Red Level with 24 points. James Feagin added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Troy Nolen had 10 and O.J. McGhee chipped in eight.

Kelley said it meant a great deal to assistant coach Kenneth Valrie and him in how much the team has progressed this season.

“We want to be competitive each and every year,” Kelley said. “Humbly speaking, we’ve been able to be competitive. These kids have bought into it and we’re taking it one game at a time.”