A win in the season opener Friday night not only put the Tigers at 1-0 on the season, it gave DeKalb County High School Tiger Basketball Coach Lynus Martin his 257th career win, and moved him into second place in all-time Tiger basketball wins.
Martin surpassed Coach Danny Bond, who recorded a 256-220 record in 17 seasons with the Tiger basketball team, to claim the honor. Martin now pulls up behind Coach Harold Luna, who won 516 games as both Tiger and Lady Tiger coach from 1968-84.
Martin is beginning his fifteenth season coaching the team, with the two seasons serving as assistant to Head Coach Danny Bond. He took over after Bond resigned in 2003. Martin, now at 257-169, told the Review that he would not be in the position today without Bond.
“To be able to be here that long and to be blessed to do what I love doing is remarkable,” Martin said. “I never thought I’d be here for that many games, and I owe a big thanks to Danny Bond. He hired me, and trusted me enough to have me on his staff, and he’s the reason I’m here today, and I couldn’t have done it without him.”
The historic win came in an 87-36 rout of the Chattanooga Patriots.
The Tigers outscored the Patriots 27-9 in the first period of the game, then outmatched them 16-8 in the second half to secure a 43-17 lead at halftime. A 22-17 third period went DeKalb’s way as well, and the fourth quarter began with the tigers leading 65-34.
DeKalb put 22 more points on the board in the fourth, and the Patriots answered with only two. DeKalb took the win 87-36.
Trey Jones led the Tigers with 18 points in the game, going two-for-three from the free-throw line. Chandler Vincent scored 11 points, hitting three-three pointers.
Bradley Miller scored 10 points on two-point shots, and Tanner Poss and Colter Norris added nine points each. Gentry Harpole, Michael Elswick and Austin Johnson scored six points each.
Ethan Cantrell put five points in for DeKalb, Isaac Walker scored three, and Dallas Cook and Alan Munoz added two each.
The Tigers did not fare as well against the Watertown Purple Tigers on Saturday evening, however, dropping the second game of the season 89-69.
Watertown scored 25 points in the first period, while the Tigers kept it close with 23. The Purple tigers broke loose with 24 more points in the second, and DeKalb only managed 14, sending DeKalb to the locker room at the half with a 49-37 deficit.
DeKalb scored 16 points in the third and 16 in the fourth, while Watertown put in 20 points up in each quarter to take the win.
Poss scored 22 points in the game, while Harpole was close behind with 21. Jones and Marshall Evins scored 10 points each, and Norris, Vincent and Elswick added two points each for DeKalb.
DeKalb traveled to Trousdale County Monday, and will play in the Cannon County Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25-26 in Woodbury.
