The Pleasant Home Eagles eighth grade boys held on for a 23-21 victory over the Straughn Tigers in the first round of the Covington County junior varsity tournament.

 

 

 

The Tigers started off strong with a 8-4 lead after the first period. Straughn’s Peeples had two 3-pointers as part of his 8 point first period.

 

 

 

In the second the Tigers continue playing strong, and hitting shots to take a 14-7 lead into half time.

 

 

 

The Eagles defense came alive in the second half, but the Tigers still held the lead after three periods 18-11.

 

 

 

In the final period the Eagles defense stepped it up even further. The offense made good shots, and hit crucial free throws to take the late in the game. The Eagles’ Josh Ruth hit a shot from with 14 seconds left to give the Eagles a 23-21 victory.

 

 

 

“We haven’t practiced in a week, and I told the guys today if they would play hard and stay out of foul trouble we would have a chance to win,” Eagles’ head coach Troy Turman said. ” We made some silly mistakes in the first half, but we corrected those in the second half. I’m really proud of the improvement and excitement that they are playing with.”

 

 

 

The Eagles were led in scoring by Marvin Fantroy with 10 points. Gage Hinson added 5 points.

 

 

 

“We played good defensively in the first half, and made shots in the first half,” Tigers’ head coach Lomax Andrews. “In the second half they pressed, and we didn’t take care of the ball or make lay ups. You can’t win if you do that against the press.”

 

 

 

Peeples led the Tigers with 13 points.

 

 

 

Pleasant Home will face the winner of Wednesday’s game between Fleeta and Florala in the championship game. The championship game will be Thursday at 6:30.