The Demopolis Tigers faced off against the R.C. Hatch Bobcats on Friday night in front of a packed house.

The Lady Tigers started the night against the Class 2A No. 8 team in the state. They led throughout the game and held off all comeback attempts by the Bobcats in the fourth quarter. Demopolis won the game by a score of 48-38.

Jonniece Collins led the Tigers with 18 points. She was the only player for DHS to go into double figures.

In the boys game, Demopolis did all they could to hang around, but R.C. Hatch shot the lights out early in the game and built a lead too large for the Tigers to overcome.

The Bobcats used the three pointer to jump out to a 24-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The highlight play of the night came on an alley-oop by the Bobcats early in the second quarter, which got the crowd buzzing.

Another big quarter by the Bobcats put them ahead 44-26 at the half.

Demopolis fought back in the second half, but was unable to ever pull within single digits.

Sophomore Rashad Lynch led the Tigers with 18 points. Roderick Davis finished with 14 points and Kevin Isaac finished with 11.

Head coach Rodney Jackson said he felt better about his team’s execution in this game.

“We executed better tonight, and we played hard,” he said. “We just weren’t able to make shots. Every time we would start going on a run, we’d make a turnover or a bad shot to slow us down. We, as coaches, have to keep working and I know this group of guys will keep working, too.”

The win for the girls moves them to 3-0 on the season, and the loss for the boys puts them at 2-2.

The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday, Dec. 11 at Clarke County.