Tigers Finish Runner-Up in Nera White Tourney
After playing in holiday tournaments in Gallatin and Watertown, Macon County came home to play in the Nera White Invitational. The Tigers eventually finished in 2nd place.
The first round game was against the Portland Panthers. Both teams appeared to settle into a half-court game until Macon jumped out to a 17-12 first quarter lead. The Tigers and the Panthers pretty much traded baskets in the 2nd quarter and Macon held a 32-28 lead at the break. Then the Tiger’s triggers heated up. When you hit a lot of your shots, good things happen. Macon pushed out to a 10 point lead 58-48 going into the final eight minutes and never looked back. Macon went on to win by a final score of 75-57.
Scoring was: Cameron Welch 16, Heston King 14, Seth Carlisle 13, Riley Phillips 9, Spencer Hogin 8, Cole Carnahan 6, Trent Cook 6, and Jake Young 3. Kelton Ballou, Lake Reed, Clay West, Connor Johnson, Noah Hale, Kyson Herald, and Ethan Jenkins all played but did not score.
In the semi-finals Macon would face district rival Watertown, whom they had beaten earlier in the month. The only thing that kept Watertown close was their hot shooting and the score was 37-31 at the break. Both teams traded baskets and Macon held a tenuous 51-45 lead heading into the final period. Then macon went on a run of their own. With some hot shooting that ended 26 of 51 and 10 of 25 behind the three point arc, the Tigers scored 19 4th quarter points to capture the win by a final score of 70-54.
Scoring was: Phillips 20, Carlisle 18, Welch 13, Cook 8, King 6, Carnahan 4, and Hogin 1. Reid, Young, Ballou, Jenkins, and West all played but did not score.
Macon lost a very close overtime game at Livingston early in December and the Tigers were now going to play the Wildcats in the championship game. Livingston just made a few more play than the Tigers and the Wildcats pushed out to a 28-21 lead at the half. Livingston managed to keep pace and led 49-41 after the 3rd quarter. Mid-way thru the 4th period the Tigers started grabbing momentum and the lead started to shrink. With 1:32 left Macon had cut the game to 54-55 and had the ball. On two trips down the court they simply couldn’t take and make a good shot. The Wildcats made one more freethow with just a few seconds left and grabbed the championship by a final score of 56-54,
Scoring was: Carlisle 19, King 15, Welch 11, Phillips 4, Hogin 4, and Carnahan 1. Cook played but did not score.
