COVINGTON, Ga. — It didn’t matter how rebounds the Alcovy Tigers missed out on, it just mattered that they collected the most important one of the night. By doing so, the Tigers walked off their home basketball court with a 61-56 win over Region 3-AAAAAA foe Mundy’s Mill.
Kendarrius Spear was intentionally fouled, which granted two free throws with 6.8 seconds left in the game. He missed the second attempt and kept Alcovy’s lead 59-56.
However, instead of Mundy’s Mill getting another chance for the tie, Khamari Thurmond muscled his way to Spear’s miss and laid the ball back up for two points.
Head coach Mack Hardwick’s explanation of Thurmond’s putback was simple.
“He wanted it more,” Hardwick said. “And that’s it. He knew how big that play was and stepped up.”
Thurmond’s offensive rebound was one of a few the Tigers could get to as Mundy’s Mill seemed to dominate the boards for most of the night.
Hardwick pointed to that struggle as something he plans to focus on in the next few days.
“When we’re not boxing out, even though we’re small guards, it really hurts us possession wise,” Hardwick said. “It gives our opponent multiple chances to score.”
Thurmond might have sealed the win for Alcovy, but Nick Durham’s heroics kept the Tigers in the game down the stretch.
The sophomore guard scored 13 of his team-high 28 points in the second half alone. There were also a few times where Durham pushed the ball down the court on a fast break and converted and-1s to help the Tigers out.
Durham’s most impressive play, though, came in the third quarter. He and Thurmond faced a 2-on-1 fast break opportunity when Durham went up in the air, passed the ball behind his back to a wide open Thurmond under the basket.
Alcovy’s win Tuesday night improves the Tigers to 8-11 overall with a 5-3 Region 3-AAAAAA record. By beating Mundy’s Mill, specifically, they will move up to third place in the region standings, too.
Next up for Alcovy is an away matchup with Morrow High School on Friday and another road contest at Jonesboro on Jan. 24.
