The Marshall County Tigers didn't toy with their prey on Friday night, as they pummeled the Culleoka Warriors 84-40 on the road to run their record to 2-1.

MCHS moved in for the kill early and built a 46-9 lead in the first half before outscoring Culleoka 38-31 over the final two quarters to coast to the 44-point victory.

The Tigers scored almost at will throughout the night and finished with 32 field goals on 44 percent shooting while knocking down 9-of-24 three-point attempts and dishing out 18 assists as a team. Marshall County also outrebounded the Warriors 42-24, held a 19-5 edge on the offensive glass, and committed just 10 turnovers.

Bench strength

MCHS showcased their extremely deep bench, as 11 different Tigers scored in the game. Sophomore guard Malek Sain led three Marshall County players in double figures by pouring in 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Aaron Hobbs followed Sain with 13 points and Darious McKenzie tallied 11 points. D'Andre Brown, Kasey Pleas and Curtis Keiler notched seven points apiece as well, while Steven Dangerfield and Quavion Harris both added six points. Jay Howard (four points), Chris Walker (two points), and Dayveontae Brown (two points) rounded out the scoring for the Tigers.

"We're blessed with some athleticism and they all have some skills," said MCHS coach Adrian Wilson. "I don't know if I've ever had this much depth before. I used to bring in guys that were limited and could only play for a few minutes, but we can bring in guys that can play so hopefully we can continue to put pressure on people."

Warriors wilt

Despite hitting 5-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc, Culleoka (0-4) mustered just 13 baskets on 35 percent shooting. The Warriors also wilted under the Tigers' relentless full court pressure and committed 27 turnovers, including 25 in the first half alone.

Savon Tears and Matthew Gilliam both tallied eight points to pace Culleoka, while Sam Davis, Alex Ford, and Austin Creps added seven, five, and four points respectively.

The Tigers pounced on the Warriors at the start of the game and jumped out to a 14-2 lead midway through the first quarter on the strength of nine points from Hobbs and a Pleas three-point play.

After Culleoka trimmed the deficit to 14-4 on a layup by Brian Greene, Pleas scored two straight layups to give Marshall County an 18-4 advantage late in the first period.

Charging ahead

Craig Parks hit two free throws to make it 18-6 at the end of the first quarter, before MCHS outscored the Warriors 11-2 over the next 3:24 with the help of seven points from McKenzie to push their lead to 29-8.

Following a free throw by Creps, which narrowed the gap to 29-9, the Tigers rattled off 17 straight points, highlighted by a pair of treys and a three-point play from Sain, to forge a 46-9 advantage at the break.

Culleoka tallied seven of the first 10 points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 49-16, but the Tigers put together a 20-10 run with the aid of five points apiece from Sain and Brown and a Keiler trey to stretch their lead to 69-26 at the end of the stanza.

The Warriors used a 7-3 spurt to close the gap to 72-33 early in the fourth period before Marshall County outscored Culleoka 12-7 the rest of the way behind a couple of threes from Dangerfield and four points from Harris to wrap up their 84-40 triumph.