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Once again, that held to form once again against Class 1A, Area 14 rival and second-ranked Skyline at home on Tuesday night. The Vikings jumped out on a 16-0 first-quarter run, but the Tigers whittled their lead down to a single point on a 3-pointer by Keaton Kilgro with 7:19 remaining in the game. However, Skyline closed out the game on a 17-10 run for a 61-53 victory.

“They’re talented, thereÐÔÊӽ紫ý no doubt about that, but they’ve just got to play (all four quarters),â€� Cedar Bluff coach Joe Carpenter said. “I don’t understand the point of playing if you’re not going to get after it. We’ve got to give better effort on the court and quit testing people out before we play them. Our effort is not where we want it to be. Somehow we’ve got to correct that.â€�

One thing the Tigers (6-8, 1-2) did manage to correct was containing the Vikings’ hot-shooting Jordan Sims a little better than in the two teams’ first meeting on Dec. 13. Sims rang for 46 points in that 87-56 decision, including 12 3-pointers.

Sims still made an impact on Tuesday for the Vikings (15-2, 6-0), but it mostly came from the free-throw line, where he connected on 9 of 13 shots. Sims also added a pair of treys and finished with a game-high 19 points.

“Our whole objective this time was to not let him have all those points,� Carpenter said. “He ended up with 19 anyway, but he didn’t have but six in the first half. He got a lot of free throws at the end, but that was the point where he had the ball and we had to foul him. I’m proud of the defense we played on him. Isaiha (Jones) did an outstanding job of guarding him.�

But the added focus on containing Sims allowed several other Vikings to step up. Bryson Woodall rang for 14 points and Brad Rodgers contributed 13.

“We’ve got guys who can shoot,� Skyline coach Ronnie McCarver said. “They (Cedar Bluff) started out in a box-and-one and we kind of shot them out of that. Then I think the whole game plan turned for them. When they started guarding us tighter, we started getting to the bucket easier where we could get some easy layups and some kick outs. We also rebounded the ball. The Rodgers kid and the (Jonah) Putman kid did a good job of rebounding the ball tonight. That made a big difference too.�

After jumping out to a 16-0 advantage early, Cedar Bluff closed out the first quarter on a 7-0 run. Skyline cranked things back up in the second quarter to take a 36-21 advantage into halftime.

Cedar Bluff managed to cut its deficit down to 44-38 by the end of the third quarter, and trailed 44-43 after KilgroÐÔÊӽ紫ý trey with 7:19 to go, but the Vikings didn’t panic. A 3-pointer by Hunter Prince extended their lead back out to 47-43 with 6:18 to go, then the Vikings forced the Tigers to foul.

Skyline connected on 8-of-12 shots from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

“We fought and fought at the end of the game,� McCarver said. “They put a lot of pressure on us, but we kept grinding and grinding. I thought we did a pretty good job.�

Davion Fife led the Tigers with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and steals. Michael Croft contributed 12 points, four boards, two blocks and a steal. Jones added nine points, five boards, five assists, four steals and a block. Kilgro finished with six points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Girls

Skyline 58, Cedar Bluff 55

CEDAR BLUFF – Cedar Bluff freshman forward Alexis SmithÐÔÊӽ紫ý 3-pointer at the buzzer clanked off the rim, allowing seventh-ranked Skyline to escape with a 58-55 road victory in Class 1A, Area 14 girls basketball action on Tuesday.

Smith led the Lady Tigers (4-11, 1-2) with 17 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals in a close contest throughout.

“The effort was there. It was just those little cumulative mistakes we made that added up to being down by three instead of up by three,� Carpenter said. “If we would have done what we should have in the first half, we probably should have been up six or seven at the end of the first half instead of down, but I can’t complain about the effort. They’ve played hard every game.�

Skyline (13-4, 6-0) led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter and held a 34-28 advantage on a rebound and putback by Tabitha Gifford with 4:11 left in the third. Those six-point cushions were the largest lead by either team throughout the game.

Skyline led 25-24 at halftime. Cedar Bluff surged in front 40-38 at the end of the third quarter.

“I thought they (Skyline) played real hard the whole game. We did a good job defensively, but we missed a lot of wide-open layups underneath the goal,� McCarver said. “But, we hung around and did what we were supposed to do.�

Cedar Bluff trailed 57-55 on a rebound and putback by Julianne Wilson with 1:51 remaining. Skyline sophomore point guard Caity Ledwell was fouled and sent to the line with 16 seconds left, where she connected on the back end of a pair of free throws to put the Lady Vikings up three at 58-55.

Following a Cedar Bluff timeout with 8.5 seconds left, the Lady Tigers’ Hannah Cosby attempted to tie the game with a trey, but the shot missed the mark. SkylineÐÔÊӽ紫ý Alli McAllister rebounded the ball and was fouled with 4.1 seconds to go. She was sent to the line for two shots, but missed them both, setting the stage for SmithÐÔÊӽ紫ý 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“At the end, we got a little fatigued and we didn’t finish,â€� Carpenter said. “ThatÐÔÊӽ紫ý been our thing. We’ve got to finish.â€�

Kallie Kilgro contributed 13 points, including three treys for the Lady Tigers. She also had five rebounds and a steal. Kyla O’Neal added 10 points.

Ledwell led the Lady Vikings with a game-high 23 points, including four treys. Bailey Usury tossed in 10 points. Baleigh Martin had seven points. Gifford and Haley Rollins both finished with six points.