Ruritan hoops tourney begins-Ruritan hoops tourney begins

A late steal and bucket couldn’t quite lift Irving College’s seventh- and eighth-grade boys to victory Monday night in the opening round of the Morrison Ruritan basketball tournament.

The Tigers closed out the game’s final 30 seconds with a 5-1 scoring run, including a layup off a stolen inbounds pass by Levi Felton with 9 seconds to play. But the Warriors of Centertown were able to hold the ball for the remaining seconds, and escape with a 29-26 win as they moved on to Thursday night’s semifinals.

A scoreless second quarter proved to be the Tigers’ undoing, as they let an 8-3 first-quarter lead slip away thanks to six unanswered points by the Warriors, who had been held to a single field goal over the opening six minutes.

Although the Tigers righted their ship in the second half, they would never reclaim the lead, as Centertown posted 10 more points in the third and led by as many as eight down the stretch before the Tigers attempted a late comeback.

Noah Crouch and Tucker Smith led the way for the Warriors with six points each, while Coty Orrick scored all five of his total in the second half as Centertown kept the Tigers at bay. Drew Tanner and Scott Reed added four each to the winning effort, while Blake Carter and Nicholas Simmons added a bucket apiece, with Simmons’ score with 28 seconds left in the first half giving his club the lead for the first time in the contest.

The Tigers got an 11-point night from Krystoffer Williams, including a 3-pointer late in the third quarter which pulled his team within one. Justin Woodlee and Sam Shay chipped in five points apiece, Felton added four and Tyler Clendenon had a free throw.

Centertown moved on to face Morrison in the first of two semifinal games set for Thursday, while Eastside is to take on Dibrell in the other boys’ semi.