Double OT thriller lands Tigers area title

The Red Bay Tigers beat Aliceville 46-43 in a double overtime thriller to capture the Class 2A, Area 10, title. 

Red Bay will host Addison Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the subregion for a chance to advance to the Northwest Regionals.

“Winning the area tournament validated how hard our kids have worked this year to get where they are,” said Red Bay Coach John Torisky.

Aliceville shot well  from the field early in the game, and the Tigers struggled, giving Aliceville a 14-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Tigers pulled to within three with 3:38 to go in the second quarter and trailed 22-18 at halftime.

Red Bay’s Andrew Ray had a huge third quarter, scoring all 13 of the Tigers’ points to tie the game 31-31.

The Tigers took the lead, 35-33, with just less than three minutes to go in the game. Aliceville tied the game with three seconds remaining and sent the game into overtime.

“It was very disheartening when they scored with three seconds left to tie the game,” said Torisky. “The kids fought through it and never gave up, despite two of our starters fouling out.”

Both teams scored six points in the five-minute overtime period to force a second overtime with the score 42-42.

Red Bay finally got the upper hand in the second overtime, winning 46-43.

Ray’s 13 points led the way for the Tigers.