The story remained the same Tuesday night for head coach Jesse Bell and the Demopolis Tiger boys: another terrific performance on defense, another frustrating performance on offense. But unlike Friday night’s game against Choctaw County, this time Demopolis got just enough second-half points to earn a victory, 37-31 on the road against Bibb County.

“I’m proud of the way we play defense,” Bell said Wednesday. “We mixed it up last night, went from zone to man-to-man during timeouts and adjusted well … We needed the win. Hopefully this’ll start a streak.”

The Demopolis defense was dominant in the first half against the Choctaws, holding the home team to only 10 points through the first two quarters. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they only scored 10 points themselves, 5 in each quarter, and found themselves tied.

But the Demopolis offense got in gear in the second half, scoring 13 third-quarter points to open up a 23-18 lead entering the final period. Solid free throw shooting down the stretch from Dontrell Miller, who finished with a game-high 16 points, kept Bibb at arm’s length and Demopolis came home with the win despite turning the ball over 23 times.

“Turning the ball over that many times at this stage of the season, that’s not acceptable,” Bell said. “And a lot of times we’re getting shots. We’re just not making them.”

In an effort to provide a spark and fill out a roster thinned by unexpected departures, Bell has three players from the DHS junior varsity team: Shantrell Braxton, Antwain Nelson, and Jamal Bolden. Braxton scored a vital 8 points while Bell praised all three for their defense and ball-handling.

“They’re bringing positive things to the table,” he said. “They played their role.”

In addition to Miller’s 16 and Braxton’s 8, the Tigers got 8 points from Casey Cantey and 5 points from Willie Blount. Cantey, one of the Tigers’ leading scorers, failed to score in the second half for the second consecutive game.

With the win, Demopolis is now 13-7 overall on the season. They will conclude their regular season schedule Friday against Greensboro.

Demopolis girls 48, Bibb County 31

The DHS Lady Tigers extended their winning streak to seven games and improved to 14-4 overall with a comfortable win over Bibb County.

Demopolis built an early lead, going ahead 14-8 after the first quarter, and stretched it from there. The Lady Tigers led 29-15 at halftime and by 21 points, 42-21, after three quarters.

“Overall, this was a very good effort,” said Demopolis head coach Tony Pittman. “We cut down on our turnovers on offense and played a very good first half defensively. We took them out of their offense and that’s what you want to do in someone else’s gym … make them play a different way than they wanted to play.”

Pittman also praised the effort of Krystal Walker, who led Demopolis with 10 points, her personal best this season.

Walker was followed by Shawnese Armstead and Jasmine Simmons with 7 points each, Kierra Plaskett with 6, Kelli Johnson, Katerria Johnson, Valissa Sams, and Shay Smith with 4, and Loreal Moore with 2.

Demopolis’s two senior Johnsons, forwards Kelli and Katerria, also combined for 18 rebounds.

Like the Demopolis boys, the DHS girls will wrap up their regular season against Greensboro Friday. The two teams have met three times already this year, with Demopolis winning once by two, and Greensboro winning twice, once by two and once by three in overtime.

“It’s a big game,” says Pittman.