On the heels of DCHS Tiger Head Coach Lynus Martin's first 8-AA regular season championship, the Tigers find themselves in a rare position, entering the district tournament as favorites. While gaining momentum with key wins down the stretch, the Tigers earned the first-round bye as the district champs.
Having a few days off allowed DeKalb the opportunity to rest up. But how did it affect the Tigers’ momentum?
Friday night, in the semifinal round, the Tigers outlasted the Cannon County Lions 69-60 to advance to the championship game last night against the Livingston Academy Wildcats.
The Tigers began the post season just as efficiently as they had entered the regular season when they went on a 5-0 run to open the first period.
However, the Lions managed to weather the storm and only trailed the Tigers by five points with the score 16-11 at the end of the first period.
Leading the way for DeKalb, senior Zach Vincent caught fire, scoring seven of the Tigers’ 20 points. But, the Tigers had a hard time containing Cannon's Cory Henley. Tallying nine points, Henley helped the Lions score 18 points to stay within seven points at the halftime break.
Trailing 36-29, the Lions went on the attack, outscoring the Tigers 18-16 to bring the score to 52-47, ending the third period.
The final period saw the Lions climb back into the game, and, at the 1:56 mark, Jarrett Melton of the Lions tied the game at 60, hitting his first shot from the free-throw line.
Just 10 seconds later, the Tigers' Ethan Roller hit a game-changing three-pointer that ignited a 9-0 run by DeKalb to end the game. The Tigers went on to win with the final score 69-60.
DeKalb's Braxton Atnip led all scorers with 25 points. Sonni Fullilove had 10 points, followed by Zach Vincent and Ethan Roller who each netted nine for the Tigers. Lucas Phillips tallied seven points with Justin Bone contributing six and Will Molander adding three points for the Tigers, who improved to 28-4.
Last night’s championship game was still in progress at press time. Tune in next week for results.
The Tigers will host the first round of the regional tournament with the Tigers slated to take on Grundy County or Chattanooga Christian. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
    Tiger Pride!