Blistering 1st quarter sends Tanner boys to huge win

Published 7:12 pm Monday, December 3, 2018

Tanner coach Chris Whitt has seen a lot of basketball in his many years on the sideline. But he admitted he hasn’t seen his team play much better than it did in the first quarter of its game against Hatton Friday night.

The Rattlers exploded out of the gate and built a 34-7 lead after one quarter before cruising to a 90-37 victory.

“It’s been a while since we scored 34 points in a quarter,” Whitt said. “You never know how that first quarter is going to go, but that sure is the way you want it to happen. The ball was going in the hole quite often, and that’s a good thing.”

Tanner hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter, with Nathan Montgomery having three of them. Montgomery scored 13 points in the quarter and finished the game with a team-high 30.

It was the second huge game in a row from Montgomery, who scored 28 points in Tanner’s 93-51 victory over Clements earlier in the week.

“Monday (a 58-40 victory over Ardmore), he was 3-14 from the field, and I kind of called him out on it,” Whitt said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass him or anything, but boy, he responded well. He had 28 points Tuesday night and 30 tonight. He’s really finding his groove right now, which is great for the team. Everybody feeds off him.”

Tanner wasn’t only great on the offensive end of the floor, they were also sensational on defense. Hatton never scored more than 12 points in a quarter and had just 17 points at halftime.

Four Tanner players finished the game in double figures, led by Montgomery’s 30. J.J. Jones scored 17 points, while Jireh Jackson had 12 and DaShaun McNabb had 10.

“We’ve been playing really well lately,” Whitt said. “Coming out of Thanksgiving break, the guys are starting to click. It’s good when that’s happening and you’re still just in November. But we’ve got some tough games coming up, so we’ll be tested real quick.”

Girls

Hatton 37, Tanner 36

Hatton’s Riley Grissom rebounded a missed shot and scored with 15 seconds left to lift the Hornets to a 37-36 victory over Tanner.

Tanner had taken the lead when Haley Benford scored with 1:40 remaining, but the Rattlers couldn’t extend their lead with free throws in the final minute.

On Hatton’s final possession, Josie Harville put up an air ball from the baseline, but Grissom was right there to rebound the ball and put it back in off the glass. Tanner’s final possession ended in a turnover right before the buzzer.

The game was close throughout, as Tanner led 11-10 after one quarter. Hatton took a 24-21 lead into halftime, but Tanner closed it to within 32-31 at the end of the third quarter.

Neither team got much offense going in the fourth quarter, with both teams scoring just five points.

Benford and Shauna Fletcher both scored 12 points to lead Tanner. Hatton was led by Harville, who scored 11.