The Luverne Tigers kept the fans on the edge of their seats right down to the final seconds Thursday night, Dec. 4, as they held their own against the defending 4A champs Bullock County. The Tigers came away with a 54-50 victory.

Even though Luverne led the entire first quarter, the Hornets took the lead during the last minute, leaving LHS trailing 11-14. But the Tigers fought back and headed into the locker room with a 25-18 lead at halftime.

The Hornets kept the Tigers on their toes, but they ended the third quarter trailing Luverne 39-30.

Luverne maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter, but Bullock County kept closing in the whole time. A three-pointer by the Hornets brought them to within one point of the Tigers with less than two minutes to go in the game. A Tiger free throw by Brandon McGhee pulled up a 52-50 lead, followed by another free throw by Jeremiah Leach with only 7.8 seconds left on the clock.

Bullock County fouled LHS Sophomore Lonnie Freeman in an attempt to get the ball back one more time, but his free throw nailed the 54-50 win for the Tigers.

Sophomore Morrease Barber led the Tigers in the win with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Robert Freeman added 8 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon McGhee had 8 points and 6 assists. Lonnie Freeman chipped in 5 points and 11 rebounds, while Ketric Jackson and Blake Bagents added 5 points each for the Tigers.

“It was a good win for them,” LHS head coach Richard Dorsey said. “We led just about the whole game, but we kept missing free throws there at the end and let them close in, but we prevailed. It’s good for us to play teams like Bullock County to get us ready for the tournaments because they’re a good team.”

The Tigers will host 3A Pike County on Thursday, Dec. 11.