The Greenville High Tigers roared to a 70-60 win against Hillcrest-Evergreen last Tuesday night.

With the win, the Tigers secured third place in the area.

Varsity boys' coach Karl Bledsoe said it was a big win.

"The win secured third place for us in the area. So, when we play in the area tournament, we'll play the No. 2 team at a neutral site," Bledsoe said.

In a back and forth game, the Tigers were down 44-43 at the end of the third quarter. However, GHS finished the game strong with an impressive 27-16 run.

"Corey (Bedgood) came to life in the fourth quarter to help us pull away from Hillcrest," the coach said.

Bedgood scored eight of his 11 in the quarter including two shots from downtown.

"Sam (Williamson), Corey and Joshua (Smith) hit key free throws down the stretch to seal the win," he said.

Smith led the team with 14 points while Williamson had 11.

In the beginning of the game, Hillcrest led 16-9 in the first quarter.

"We got off to a slow start," Bledsoe said. "I went to the bench when Hillcrest started pulling away and it paid off."

When the bench came in, they initiated an 18-9 run to capture a 27-25 edge at halftime.

"The bench did a great job tonight," the coach said. "Carlos (Blackmon) and Chris (Toles) came in off the bench in the second quarter to give us that needed spark."

They each scored 11 points in the game.

Three of the top five leading scorers came off the bench.

In the third, the teams traded baskets until GHS pulled away in the finalminutes of the fourth quarter.

With the win, the Tigers broke a recent losing streak and upped their record to 7-11.

"I'm real proud of how the guys on the bench stepped up," Bledsoe said.

In the girls' game, Coach Jerome Antone's club fell 33-29.

"Our free throws hurt us once again," Antone said.

The Tigers shot 2 of 15 from the charity stripe.

Sophomore Kayla Albritton and juniors Amanda Dunklin and Sharhonda Hawkins led the team with nine points each.

Dunklin helped the team on the boards by recording 13 rebounds.

Hawkins had eight rebounds.

"We played real hard and tried our very best to win the game but it wasn't to be," he said.

Antone said the team has cut down on turnovers and has gotten better with each game.

"We have had some tough games but this team has some

great seasons ahead of them," Antone said.

The Tigers will finish in fourth place in the area. In the tournament, they will go up against Wilcox Central.

Wilcox Central is the host team of the area tournament.

The Tigers will host Carroll-Ozark on Monday, Jan. 31. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.