Greenville head coach Bryant Marlow was pleased with the way his team responded to a 49-47 loss at the hands of traditional 1A power J.F. Shields last week. The Tigers simply went into Calhoun and won that school’s tournament.

Senior Mikwese Claybourne scored 28 points as the Tigers toasted Southside-Selma 71-60 in the opening round on Friday, then beat Keith 50-48 for the tournament title on Saturday.

The Tigers sit at 6-2 on the season. Both losses were by identical scores. GHS lost to Charles Henderson 49-47 on Dec. 1.

“We came out of there (J.F. Shields) and lost by two,” said Marlow. “We had 16 turnovers and only shot 10-of-18 from the free throw line. We knew there were missed opportunities that would have helped us win the ball game.”

Despite the loss, Claybourne dropped in 24 points and Nick McHenry added 13.

Friday’s game against Southside-Selma saw the Tigers get more production from the entire team: Besides Claybourne’s 28, McHenry added 15, Brentley Hill scored 13 and Za’darius Smith scored 13 points.

Claybourne had 13 points in the Tigers’ close victory over Keith in the title game, with Tyrell West adding 12 and McHenry scoring eight.

“Mikwese has definitely been one of our better players,” said Marlow. “But we’re getting good effort from from Nick and Za’Darius also. We just have to keep working on the fundamentals. We’ve got a lot of athletic guys on this team and we’ve got a lot of talent.”

The Tigers also sit at 1-0 in region play, but Wilcox-Central, always strong on the hardwood said Marlow, awaits the first of the year on Jan. 8 (in Camden) and Jan. 15 (in Greenville).

“Wilcox-Central is always tough in area play,” said Marlow.

The Tigers next play in Opelika for a tournament on Dec. 28-30.

GHS hosts Straughn on Jan. 5.