Ardmore's Chesney Widner looks for an opening against Tanner in Friday night's game. Widner scored 25 points in the Tigers' 60-47 victory.

Friday night’s game between Ardmore and Tanner was like a play in two acts. The first half was dominated by the Tigers, while the Rattlers took control in the second half.

Fortunately for Ardmore, their half was slightly better and they held on for a 46-44 victory on senior night.

“We came out and were hot shooting the ball, and then we took our foot off the gas,” Ardmore coach Kyle Owens said. “(Tanner’s) kids kept fighting and fighting and made it close. And the last few minutes were very stressful.”

Tanner’s top player, J.J. Jones, missed the game with an illness and Ardmore took advantage, racing out to a 27-5 lead midway through the second quarter and carrying a 32-12 advantage into halftime thanks to six 3-pointers.

“When our bigs started hitting 3-pointers, you know you’re having a good night,” Owens said. “Unfortunately, that didn’t carry over to the second half.”

Tanner held Ardmore to just six points in the third quarter but still trailed 38-22 heading into the final period.

The Rattlers still trailed by 13 points with less than 2 minutes left before they began a furious comeback. DaShaun McNabb hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 45-35 with 1:45 remaining, and after a steal, Skyler Townsend made a layup while being fouled and converted the free throw to cut the lead to seven points.

After a missed Ardmore shot, Malik Atkins then made a basket with 40 seconds left to cut the lead to five points. Tanner then stole the inbounds pass and Townsend converted a layup with 35 seconds left to cut the lead to 45-42.

Ardmore then missed a free throw with 16.1 seconds left and Atkins scored 10 seconds later to trim the lead to one point.

However, after the Ardmore inbounds pass, Tanner wasn’t able to foul until just 1.3 seconds remained. Ardmore’s Matthew Perry made one of two free throws, and Tanner wasn’t able to get a shot away before the buzzer sounded.

Perry led Ardmore with 10 points, while Colton Hardiman, Michael Turner, Chase Patterson and Chase Duskin each scored seven. Tanner was led by Atkins with 13 points. McNabb and Evan Fuqua each scored eight.

Despite being outscored 39-19 over the final 20 minutes of the game, Owens was proud of his players for hanging on and getting a win for his seven seniors on senior night.

“This is my fourth senior night, and I don’t think we’d won one yet,” Owens said. “For them to win against Tanner, it will be something they remember. They won’t remember how it happened. The final score is all that matters.”

Girls

Ardmore 60, Tanner 47

Ardmore jumped out to a huge early lead and coasted in the second half to a 13-point victory Friday over Tanner during senior night.

The Tigers were on fire from the floor in the first quarter, hitting four 3-pointers and racing out to a 24-6 lead.

Chesney Widner then took over, scoring 11 of Ardmore’s 13 points in the second quarter as the Tigers took a 37-14 halftime advantage. Widner scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the first half.

Ardmore took its foot off the gas with the big halftime advantage, but Tanner didn’t quit. The Rattlers cut into the deficit in the second half and outscored Ardmore 18-9 in the fourth quarter, though they could never get within 13 points as Ardmore saw out the victory.

Madison Lewis added 13 points for Ardmore, and Savannah Moore chipped in with seven.

Tanner was led by Keyera Jeans with 12 points and Amiya Redus with 10.