CONYERS, Ga. — The Alcovy Tigers took the trip to Conyers Tuesday night to face the Salem Seminoles.
After two close contests, Alcovy came away with the sweep with wins of 57-37 and 61-56, respectively.
Lady Tigers surge offensively to knock off Salem
A dominant third quarter led the Lady Tigers to a 57-37 victory against Salem on Tuesday that improved their record to 4-7 on the season.
Alcovy came out of the locker room hot after halftime, scoring 24 points in the third period.
However, it took some time for the Lady Tigers to get rolling out of the gates.
After being down 7-0, Alcovy kicked off the scoring with a contested layup by Janae Hutcherson.
The offensive hot streak continued with a pair of steals by the Lady Tigers followed by buckets from Hutcherson and junior Kendall Banks.
The Lady Tigers defense clamped down on Salem in the second quarter, holding them to just six points to close out the first half 28-16.
Banks got the second half started on a high note by driving to the rim for an and-one play.
The Lady Tigers controlled both sides of the ball throughout the third quarter, going on a 12-0 run to finish 24 minutes of play up 52-25.
In the fourth quarter, Salem tried to mount a comeback.
The Seminoles held Alcovy to just five fourth quarter points, but the 27-point deficit proved too much for Salem to overcome. The Tigers defense stuffed the comeback attempt to extend Salem’s losing streak to six.
Alcovy returns home to face Berkmar (1-12) on Friday, Dec. 22. They will begin the new year on the road against Monroe Area (2-5) on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Tigers mount a comeback…twice
Two double-digit deficits were not enough to stop the Tigers as they came back to defeat Salem 61-56 on Tuesday.
After heading into the locker room down 32-20, Alcovy held the Seminoles scoreless through the first four minutes of the third quarter.
The strong play on defense allowed Alcovy to score 12 unanswered points to tie the game.
However, Salem would respond with a run of its own, matching Alcovy’s 12 points while tacking on two more to dig an even deeper hole for the Tigers.
The Tigers kept fighting, and a dunk by senior Tim Walls would send the teams to the fourth quarter with Salem up 46-40.
An early fourth quarter layup by Khamani Thurman and free throws from Jaqari Smith gave Alcovy a lead for the first time of the night.
Salem took the lead once again, but a clutch three pointer followed by a layup from sophomore Andre Jernigan cemented the game in favor of the Tigers.
After the game, Alcovy head coach Taylor Jackson was ecstatic with his team’s fight on Tuesday.
“They’re freaking fighters,” Jackson said. “They’re a tough group who never say die, they never quit, they always keep coming back and always keep finding a way.”
Jernigan led the way offensively with 24 points. Nick Durham followed with 15 points while Walls finished with 13 points.
After the win over the Seminoles, Alcovy remained undefeated in non-region play.
Jackson said the team has set small goals to help accomplish bigger ones. Winning non-region games is one of those small goals.
The Tigers (9-3) will seek to keep accomplishing that goal as they go on the road to face Cumberland Christian Academy (7-4) on Friday, Dec. 22. They will then host Stockbridge on Saturday, Dec. 23.
