RINGGOLD, Ga. – As Murray County boys basketball coach Greg Linder told his team prior to opening play at the Region 6-AAA basketball tournament Wednesday, it doesn’t matter how pretty the game is as long as you win.
The Indians overcame 18 turnovers and a poor-shooting night to clip Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 43-39 and move within one win of making the state tournament. The Indians, 10-16 and winners of four of their past six games, will face North Murray in one of today’s quarterfinals at Ringgold.
“We’re playing pretty good right now,” Linder said. “We’re defending well and we’re playing hard. We’ve kind of jelled as a team of late, and I’m excited about where we are right now. This was a good start for us.”
The sloppy game was tied at 20 at halftime but six quick Murray points – four off Jordan Jackson’s short jumpers – seized control early in the third. A 5-0 run later pushed the lead to 33-25, and the Warriors were on the ropes.
However, seven consecutive fourth-quarter points from Noah Harris, including two 3-pointers, pulled LFO within two, and when Tristen Bennett hit a layup with 2:09 to play, the game was tied at 37.