Tyrek Turner drives to the basket against Valley. Photo by Graham Dunn.

Tigers advance to sub-regional

By Michael Butler

Tallassee didn't win the area tournament, but it did what it had to do.

The Tigers needed one win to clinch a playoff berth and got it with a 48-44 victory over Valley on Tuesday. Tallassee lost to Brewbaker Tech in the title game 65-54 on Thursday.

The Tigers will go up against Charles Henderson in Troy on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Troy. The Trojans are 19-9 on the season and are the Class 5A/Area 3 champions.

Tallassee's 22-7 record is its best ever. A 20-win season prior to the 2018-19 campaign had been unprecedented. The Tigers set a record for consecutive wins at 15. They cracked the Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings as well. All the accolades aside, there is still unfinished business.

The Tigers have never advanced past a sub-regional either despite being very close several times. Last year, Tallassee hosted Sipsey Valley in the sub-regional at Stumberg Gymnasium but lost 59-51.

"When I first took the job here at Tallassee, that was one of our goals - reaching the regional. I think the experience last year, will definitely help us," head coach Keiven Mixson said. "I remember the NAIA when I was a coach at Faulkner. The first year we made it, the experience was a little too big for us. We lost in the first round. The next year we made it back out there and won two or three games."

Tallassee's deepest run in the post-season dates back to 1927. The Tigers were the state runner-up to Woodlawn falling in the title game 30-12.

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