The Hartselle Tigers defeated Athens 40-37 to give coach Faron Key win number 173 at Hartselle. He passed Don Pouncey’s 172 career wins as the Tigers’ head coach.

“It is special to pass coach Pouncey’s record of 172 wins at Hartselle,” Key said. “Coach Pouncey was a tremendous supporter of mine when I came to Hartselle. I was blessed to be able to call him my friend.”

The Tigers jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the first quarter but saw Athens cut the lead to 22-15 at the half. The Golden Eagles continued their comeback by outscoring Hartselle 15-5 in the third quarter to take a 30-27 lead into the final quarter.

Athens extended their lead to five early in the fourth quarter. However, the Tigers battled back by outscoring the Golden Eagles 11-3 the rest of the way to complete the comeback.

Ty Odom finished with 16 points to lead Hartselle (13-14). Rylan Smothers added nine points and five rebounds. Markus Tapscott had six points and four rebounds, while Brayden Thomas added four points and 11 rebounds.

Austin 76, Hartselle 59
The Tigers fell 76-59 to 7A’s No. 2 Austin last Tuesday. The Black Bears led 19-12 after the first quarter and 37-24 at halftime. Trailing 57-35 to start the fourth quarter, the Tigers outscored Austin 24-19 in the final quarter.

Odom led four Hartselle players in double digits with 16 points. Smothers had 14, while Kohl Key added 13 and Brayden Thomas 12.

Jordan Johnson finished with 25 to lead Austin, Harry Malone added 23 points and Isaiah Fuller had 13 points.

Hartselle 69, Jasper 58
Hartselle jumped out early and held on for a 69-58 win over a ranked Jasper team. The Tigers led 20-10 after the first quarter and 38-25 at halftime. The Vikings opened the third quarter with a 15-3 run to cut the lead to 41-40. However, Hartselle finished the quarter on a 12-3 run to push their lead to 53-43 heading into the fourth quarter.

Odom finished with a game-high 20 points to lead Hartselle. Key had 11 points and five assists, while Thomas added 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Markus Tapscott finished with 10 points, while Smothers had nine points, four rebounds and three assists.