Tanner got 41 combined points from Malik Atkins and C.J. Yarbrough as the fourth-seeded Rattlers upset top seed East Limestone 75-63 in the semifinal round of the Limestone County boys tournament on Thursday night.

Atkins scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Yarbrough added 20, including a thunderous dunk in the first quarter that elicited a crowd reaction that seemed like it would blow the roof off the Elkmont High gymnasium.

Tanner led just 13-12 after the first quarter, but outscored the Indians 25-12 in the second quarter to take control. The second quarter was capped off by Nathan Montgomery, who hit three free throws with one second left after he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer.

East Limestone wouldn’t go away in the second half, and made one final run, cutting Tanner’s lead to 60-56 with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

But Tanner’s Jireh Jackson hit a huge 3-pointer from the corner to give the Rattlers some breathing room and Tanner pulled away in the final two minutes thanks to six straight points from Yarbrough. Jackson was Tanner’s third-leading scorer with nine points.

Nathan Green led East Limestone with 15 points while Dominik White had 14, Keashawn Robinson tallied 13 and Isaiah Robinson chipped in with 11.

Tanner advances to Saturday night’s championship game where the Rattlers will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal between West Limestone and Clements.

Limestone County Girls Tournament

East Limestone 43, Ardmore 31

It wasn’t an especially pretty game, but it was a very effective one for top-seeded East Limestone, as the Indians smothered fourth-seed Ardmore’s offensive attack in a 12-point semifinal victory.

The Indians held the Tigers to single digit points in three of the four quarters, and hit enough shots to keep them at bay the entire game.

East led 10-9 after the first quarter, but outscored Ardmore 14-4 in the second quarter to pull out to a double-digit lead, and were never seriously challenged in the second half.

Ardmore had hit nine 3-pointers in its 58-48 victory over West Limestone in the tournament’s first round on Monday, but had just one made 3-pointer on Thursday.

Jirah Rogers and Savannah Tyler both scored 12 points to lead East Limestone while Hailie Smith scored 11.

Ardmore was led by Madison Lewis with 10 points and Chesney Widner with eight.

East Limestone advances to the championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Friday’s semifinal between Tanner and Clements.