The Greenville High Tigers fell short of victory in Monday night’s Class 5A Area 4 Basketball Tournament, losing 59-54 against the Wilcox Central Jaguars.

A late three-pointer by Jamie Williams gave the Tigers a chance to retake the game, but a turnover and flurry of fouls sealed the deal.

“Wilcox came to play—they had a lot of intensity,” said Coach Bryant Marlow. “We started out pretty good, but we finished the game flat.”

Marlow said free throws and turnovers hurt his team the most.

“We gave them too many rebounds,” said Marlow. “It’s a good win for Wilcox and a tough loss for us.”

The Tigers conceded 22 free throw attempts, with Wilcox capitalizing on 11 of those.

GHS lead by 2 points at the end of the first quarter, 14-17. The Tigers came out early, but the Cougars went on a 9-point run to steal the lead back, going into the half 33-32.

The Tigers battled back in the third scoring a total of 15 points, closing the quarter trailing by 1, 43-42.

The fourth quarter held more excitement for fans. A highflying dunk by Tiger Mikwese Claybourne brought the whole gym to their feet, where they would remain the rest of the game. The Tiger defense could not hold and allowed Wilcox to put in a total of 12 points in the last quarter.

Nick McHenry lead the Tiger’s scoring with 16 points, followed close behind by Williams for 13.

The Tigers will play in the sub-regional game against Rehobeth Friday at 7:00 p.m.