HANCEVILLE, Ala. – After knocking off Waterloo in their Sub-Regional game on Saturday night, the Meek Tigers looked to carry that momentum into their Sweet 16 matchup against the Hubbertville Lions in the Northwest Regionals on Tuesday morning. It was tied after one, but a pair of late runs by Hubbertville gave them a six-point lead at the break. The Lions blew things wide open in the second half, outscoring Meek, 48-25, en route to a 75-46 win over the Tigers.
Parker Ferguson hit a basket on Meek’s opening possession to give them the early lead. The Tiger defense held serve early on, as they held Hubbertville scoreless for almost two and a half minutes before a trey by the Lions gave them a 3-2 lead. Evan McCay knocked down a shot in the paint and later added a trey from the left wing off of an assist by Ferguson to put the Tigers ahead 7-5 more than midway through the opening period. Later in the first, Briley Bowling put in a shot down low, and Ferguson collected a rebound and putback to give Meek an 11-7 lead. Hubbertville, though, hit a pair of late baskets to tie it up at 11 going into the second.
Both teams traded baskets and points to start out the second period. Five straight points by Coleman Bonner gave Meek a 16-15 lead, but a 6-0 run by the Lions gave them the lead right back at 21-16 late in the first half. Bonner’s hot shooting continued, as he drilled a short jumper to cut it to 21-18. Hubbertville, though, went on another 6-0 run to widen their lead to 27-18. On the Tigers’ last possession of the first half, McCay found Ferguson at the top of the key for a huge three pointer before the buzzer to trim it to six at 27-21 at the half.
The Lions drained a pair of quick threes to stretch their lead to 33-21 early in the third. Ferguson scored five straight points, including a three-point play, to cut it to 33-26 with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter. Every time Meek would go on a run, Hubbertville would counter with a run of their own, as nine straight points by the Lions gave them a 42-26 lead. McKinnon Guthrie knocked down a short jumper, and McCay added a basket down low to cut it to 44-30. Bonner drained a short jumper, then Ferguson scored through a foul and ended up hitting the free throw to make it a 47-35 game. A late basket by Hubbertville gave them a 49-35 lead going into the final period.
Ferguson put in a shot down low and later added a free throw to trim it to 13 at 51-38. The Lions scored the next five points to take a 56-38 lead, but Ferguson and Bonner each knocked down a shot in the paint to cut it to 56-42. That’s as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the way, as Hubbertville went on a 19-4 run to close out the contest, and they would go on to knock off Meek, 75-46.
Ferguson finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers.
