LMS Tigers torch Tullahoma West

Despite coming off a three-week layoff, the Lewisburg Middle School Tigers (12-0) showed few signs of rust on Tuesday night, as they crushed the Tullahoma West Bobcats 53-16 at home.

LMS dominated the game from the opening tip and built a 33-9 lead in the first half before outscoring the Bobcats 20-7 over the final two quarters to cruise to the 37-point victory.

Bolstered by a 7-of-14 shooting performance in the first quarter, the Tigers shot 42 percent (23-of-55) from the field overall, which included a 4-of-17 effort from three-point range.

Lewisburg also outrebounded Tullahoma 34-19, held a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass, and committed only 13 turnovers.

LMS, meanwhile, limited the Bobcats to a mere six field goals on 21 percent shooting and recorded 20 steals en route to forcing 24 Tullahoma turnovers.

"I thought we came out pretty sharp considering we had a three-week layoff. I think the guys were eager to play again," said LMS coach David Lovell. "We really got after it defensively. We put a lot of pressure on the ball and in the passing lanes.. It was a real good effort overall."

D'Andre Brown led the Tigers' offensive attack by pouring in a game high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Jay Howard followed Brown with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals, while Keevon Maxwell added eight points. Tre Crutcher and Dayveonte Brown notched six points apiece as well with Crutcher registering five steals. Tre Fields and Caleb Fields chipped in three and two points respectively to round out the scoring for Lewisburg.

Malik Braston paced the Bobcats with six points, and Andrew Scott tallied three points. Chase Willis and Will Holder also notched two points each for Tullahoma, while Nic Barstad, Drew Stubblefield, and Gage Young all had one point.

After the Tigers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead thanks to a pair of layups from D'Andre Brown and a Howard jumper, Braston hit a runner to narrow the gap to 6-2, before Lewisburg went on a 13-0 run with the help of four points from Crutcher and a Maxwell trey to open up a 19-2 advantage early in the second quarter.

Following a free throw by Barstad, which trimmed the deficit to 19-3, LMS outscored the Bobcats 11-2 over the next four minutes with the help of a Tre Fields three, two free throws from Maxwell, and baskets from Crutcher, Howard, and D'Andre Brown to push their lead to 30-5.

Tullahoma tallied the next four points to close the gap to 30-9, but D'Andre buried a trey from the top of the key as time expired in the first half to give the Tigers a 33-9 advantage at the break.

Willis scored on an offensive put back at the start of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 33-11, before Lewisburg responded with an 8-2 spurt behind four points apiece from Howard and Dayveonte Brown to forge a 41-13 lead late in the stanza.

After Scott hit a three to make it 41-16 with 1:15 left in the third period, the Tigers outscored the Bobcats 12-0 the rest of the way on the strength of five points from D'Andre Brown and a Maxwell trey to cap their 53-16 triumph.