By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
Their second half output was their best of any half so far it has played this season, but it was a nightmarish first half that sent the T.R. Miller Tigers to a 67-58 loss to the Etowah Blue Devils in Thursday's opening round of the Oxford Tournament.
The Tigers (5-5) dug a huge hole in the first half where they fell behind 17-6 through one quarter and 39-17 by halftime.
T.R. Miller found its offensive groove over the last two quarters where it scored 41 points. That surge helped the Tigers cut the gap to 55-38 by the end of the third quarter and all the way down to nine points early in the fourth quarter before Etowah closed the door on the T.R. Miller comeback.
Wade Jackson knocked in 20 points to lead all scorers, while Jordan Knight chipped in 19 points for the Tigers. Brandon Andrews also reached double digits with 12.
T.R. Miller, which closed out tournament play at Oxford Friday, opens up play in the T.R. Miller Holiday Tournament Tuesday where it faces Georgiana at 8 p.m.
At Oxford
Etowah 17 22 16 12 – 67
T.R. Miller 6 11 21 20 – 58
ETOWAH (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) James 4-3-1-18; Gordon 6-0-1-13; Basham 6-0-0-12; Mosley 3-0-2-8; Dupree 3-0-1-7; Sanders 2-0-0-4; Snow 0-1-0-3; Cordell 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 25-4-5-67)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Jackson 4-3-3-20; Jo. Knight 4-3-2-19; Andrews 4-0-4-12; Lucas 2-0-0-4; Curry 1-0-0-2; Brooks 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 15-6-10-58)