By By Adam Robinson – Sports Editor
After suffering through nine straight losses to open the basketball season in 2008, the T.R. Miller Tiger basketball team has picked up two straight wins in two games to open the 2009 part of their season.
Not only have the Tigers broken the win column, but the two wins for the Tigers have been area wins and have pushed the Tigers to 2-9 overall and to 2-0 in area play.
The Tigers defeated Choctaw County 77-73 in Butler in their first area game and then defeated Bayside Academy Tuesday to pick up their second straight win in just their second home game of the season.
The Tigers were set to stay in area play on Friday when they traveled to Mobile to take on Cottage Hill.
The Tigers will be back in action at home on Tuesday when they take on rival W.S. Neal. This will be the final game between the two schools this season.
T.R. Miller 45,
Bayside Academy 40
In just their second home game of the season, the T.R. Miller Tigers improved to 2-9 overall and most importantly 2-0 in the area with a 45-40 come-from-behind win Tuesday night at home.
Down 31-28 heading into the fourth quarter of play, the Tigers used a 9-0 run in the quarter and outscored the Admirals 17-9 to claim the five-point win.
It was the Tigers second straight win after opening the season 0-9.
Edge said after Christmas, the team talked and needed a change.
Corey Redfearn led the Tigers with 19 points and was joined by Terez Lane who also had double figure points with 11.
Derrick Riley chipped in eight points in the win and Joe McCorvey added four points. Justin Payne added three points.
Edge said with Justin Payne on the bench with three first half fouls and Riley joining him with his second foul, Redfearn carried the team through with his teammates to get the Tigers to the half.
After trailing in the game 3-0 at the 6:31 mark, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-3 lead with 3:58 left in the first quarter.
After the four-point lead, Bayside came back and used a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to hold an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the game stayed close until the 1:24 mark as Bayside twice built an 8-point lead and held a 25-18 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Tigers again fell behind by eight points, this time 30-22 at the 2:35 mark, but held Bayside to just a free throw the remainder of the quarter while scoring six points to cut the lead to three, 31-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers used a 9-0 run and a 4-0 run and were 4-for-8 from the free throw line to outscore Bayside 17-9 in the quarter and claim the five-point win, 45-40.
Redfearn had seven points in the quarter while Terez Lane added five. Payne had his only points in the quarter and Riley chipped in one point in the win for the Tigers.
T.R. Miller 77,
Choctaw County 73
In their first area game of the season and first game of 2009, the T.R. Miller Tigers picked up their first win of the season with a four-point win over Choctaw County 77-73.
Riley and Payne led the Tigers with 21 points each.
Redfearn finished with 15 points and Terez Lane added 14. Joe McCorvey chipped din six points for the Tigers in the win.
Edge said the win for his team was a team effort.
Choctaw County held an early one-point lead after the first quarter as they held an 11-10 lead after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, the Tigers outscored Choctaw County 21-17 to hold a 31-28 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Tigers extended their lead to eight points as they outscored Choctaw County 20-15 to hold a 51-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, Choctaw County outscored the Tigers 30-26, but it was not enough as T.R. Miller held on for the 77-73 area win.