On Tuesday night the Tigers traveled to White County in the semi-finals of the regional tournament to face off against the Sequatchie Indians.
The Tigers played a close game but it was the Indians who won the war, edging past the Tigers to a 74-70 win, and ending the season for DeKalb.
In the first quarter, the Tigers marched out to an early 4-0 lead from the hands of Stephen Howell and Braxton Atnip. From there Sequatchie kicked it into gear answering back with their own 7-0 run to give them the lead 7-6 with 1:37 still remaining in the opening period. Each team would toss in a basket each, to end the period with Sequatchie on top 9-8.
The Tigers  were led in scoring by Sonni Young who dropped in four to help the Tigers keep the game close.
In the second quarter, Sequatchie kept the Tigers at bay, never relinquishing the lead and outscoring the Tigers 18-12.
The Tigers were plagued with  turnovers and missed shots as they committed six turnovers in the second period alone, a key factor in the Indians maintaining a lead at halftime 29-20. The Tigers were again led in the period in scoring by Young as he added another four to his total.
In the third quarter,  Sequatchie wasted no time  coming out on a 5-0 run against the Tigers, extending their lead to 12. Each time the Tigers would sink a bucket, the Indians would come back with a string of multiple unanswered points.
 On  more than one occasion Sequatchie would lead by double-digit figures. In the closing minutes of the third, DeKalb had a spark of momentum ending the period on a 9-4 run. The Tigers were still outscored for the period 22-21 but the last quarter comeback kept the hopes of the Tigers alive. The Tigers’ leading scorer in the quarter was Young with nine, also adding four rebounds in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers defense was still having trouble shutting down the high-powered offense of Sequatchie, allowing them to make a 6-0 run in the opening minutes of the fourth period, giving the Indians a 10-point lead again.
Coach Lynus Martin took a timeout to ready his troops for  a make-or-break final stand in the period. Martin’s talk was the boost they needed as the team rallied for a comeback and, with 41 seconds remaining in the game, the Tigers pulled within two points of the Indians.
Two points would be the closest the Tigers would get to a comeback as Sequatchie edged past the late-game antics of DeKalb County and slipped by with a four-point victory.
The Tigers end their season with an admirable 26-7. At one point in the season the Tigers found themselves hot as they  went on a  streak winning 10 straight. This marks the Tigers’ best season in over 10 years.
The Tigers were also just one game short of going to sub-state, a feat they have not accomplished since 1994. Along with DeKalb’s success this season, they post an impressive 10-3 district record in  one of the toughest districts in men’s basketball in the state of Tennessee.
The Tigers were led in scoring by Sonni Young as he tossed in 27 points, followed by Stephen Howell with 17 points. Lucas Phillips scored 11 and Braxton Atnip added in 10. Will Molander finished with five.
The Smithville Review would like to congratulate the DCHS team on winning season and second-place district finish.