McKenzie Tigers tamed the Ariton Purple Cats at Thursday’s sub-regional game in Georgiana.

The Tigers will be moving on in the state tournament after the 45-39 victory.

Coach Miles Brown said the game was up and down.

“We started out real good in the first but we fell flat for a couple of quarters.”

Then, in the fourth, Brown said Airton got in a desperate situation and started fouling.

Bad move.

The Tigers were hot on the line, connecting on the majority of its free throw attempts. Cliff Pugh went 12-for-12 on free throws in the fourth quarter.

“This should just be reiterated to our players—don’t panic when things get rough in a game,” Brown said. “We know how to win, it’s just a matter of doing what we have to do.”

McKenzie will play Tuesday at South Alabama in Mobile in the Class 1A South Regional Tournament at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers will play the winner of Saturday’s  J.F. Shields-Marengo game.