Feb. 18—HANCEVILLE — A fourth consecutive Elite Eight appearance wasn't in the cards for the Tanner boys basketball team.
Playing in the semifinals of the Class 2A Northwest Regional on Tuesday, Tanner fell to Red Bay 61-59.
"It was one of those games that when the horn blew you were upset because our guys were playing so hard and you just wanted a little more time," Tanner head coach Kyle Owens said. "You start looking at the free-throw numbers and some of the other stuff, if the ball had bounced our way maybe just one more time then we're probably on the other side of it right now."
Tanner had eliminated Red Bay in two of the last three regional tournaments, including last year, but were unable to do it again.
"It feels a little like sweet revenge against a tough team that's given us a lot of problems in the past," Red Bay head coach John Torisky said.
Tanner tied Red Bay 10-10 after the first quarter and outscored the Tigers in the third and fourth quarters. However, the second quarter was ultimately the difference.
The Rattlers were outscored 15-5 as they went the last six minutes of the quarter without a made field goal.
"Their length was bothering us," Owens said. "I think too many times in the first half we were settling for shots that were floaters or mid-range jumpers. We challenged them at halftime to attack the rim and it worked out in our favor."
Tanner almost pulled off an improbable comeback late in the game. Trailing 59-50 with 33 seconds left, the Rattlers hit three 3-pointers and had the ball with a chance at a game-winning shot that ultimately fell short.
"That's why I said I wanted some more time. It felt like if we had just a few more seconds that we were going to get another one," Owens said.
Rickey Speights Jr. led Tanner with 25 points in what was his final game with the Rattlers.
"I love it here, and I hate that it's over," Speights said. "I think they're going to do something next year."
Matthew Fletcher added nine points, while Kaden Freeman and Cade Dorning each had eight. Khalil Luster led Ray Bay with a double-double, scoring 26 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.
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Marion County girls 63, Athens Bible 30: The Trojans' season came to an end Tuesday in the semifinals of the Class 1A Northwest Regional.
Kylie Murrell led Athens Bible with eight points, and Vera Aderholt had seven.
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