Behind 24-22 with three minutes gone in the third quarter, Greensboro’s Ivory White drove and dished to teammate Demarquelle Tabb for what appeared to be an easy lay-up. Tabb’s shot glanced off the rim, however, and with it went Greensboro’s last chance to claim their first victory of the season over Demopolis.

After the missed opportunity, Willie Blount scored to put the Tigers up four and the visiting Raiders would never again control the ball with a chance to tie. Demopolis extended the lead to 40-30 at the end of the quarter and won going away, 54-46.

The victory was Demopolis’s third of the season over Greensboro and improved the Tigers to 10-2 on the season. The Raiders fall back to .500 at 9-9.

“We had a team meeting about our consistency, and the kids responded,” Demopolis coach Jesse Bell said about the Tigers’ recent hot streak, during which they have won five straight by no less than Tuesday’s eight-point spread and by an average of nearly 18 points.

“We’re still not taking care of business in the second half,” Bell added, “but I’m very pleased with the way we’re coming out of the gate.”

Tuesday, Demopolis came out of the gate with their usual brand of havoc-wreaking defense and quick-strike offense. A series of early Greensboro turnovers led to a series of Demopolis dunks that got the home crowd involved and, despite a scoring drought in the second quarter, earned Demopolis a 24-16 halftime lead.

Greensboro wasn’t ready to go home quietly, scoring the first six points of the second half. Following the Tabb miss and Blount basket, Ivory White hit a three-pointer that cut the Demopolis lead to one with 3:56 to play in the third period.

But Casey Cantey responded with a three-point play on Demopolis’s following possession, sparking a 14-5 run to end the quarter.

The Tigers’ season-long struggles from the free throw line continued in the fourth quarter, allowing Greensboro to cut a 13-point lead to 53-46 on a Tabb basket with :31 seconds left, but it was too little too late for the Raiders.

Three Demopolis players finished in double figures as Cantey and Dontrell Miller tied for team honors with 16 points each, followed by Blount’s 14. Patrick Robertson and Brian Taylor added 3 each while Dwiuan White scored 2. Miller led the defensive effort with 9 steals.

Rashad Hobson led Greensboro with 16 points, followed by White with 10, Tabb with 7, Adrian Williams with 6, Mike Wiggins with 5, and Cedric Harris with 2.