By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Everything was going right for the Troup Tigers.

Playing inspired basketball before a packed house in their own gymnasium, the Tigers were ahead 31-19 when Marcus Williams scored with 6:25 left in the third period.

And then the game turned.

Beginning with a Royal Thomas 3-pointer, the Grangers were off and running, and they didn’t look back.

The Grangers embarked on a 22-1 run that covered about nine minutes, and they held on for a 50-46 victory in a Region 2-AAA game.

Williams scored eight points in the final 25 seconds to make the final score closer.

Thomas paced the Grangers with 14 points, while Qua Huzzie scored 11.

Williams scored 17 points for Troup, while Eric Bridges and Javarik Winston scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

“The guys got hunkered in there, and in the second half, we got guys into a flow and we had a couple of good possessions,” LaGrange head coach Mike Pauley said. “They dug in and made some things happen.”

Pauley said, as has oftenbeen the case this season, the team’s depth made a big difference.

“We played 13 of the 14 who dressed,” Pauley said. “And everybody contributed to this win.”

Pauley also said Huzzie “really turned it up defensively” to help turn the tide in the second half.

After Thomas made his 3-pointer to get the Grangers going, Huzzie followed with a 3-pointer of his own to make it a six-point game.

Huzzie and Deuntae Terry each scored following Troup turnovers to make it a two-point game, and Thomas’ bucked after an offensive rebound tied the game 31-31 through three periods.

The momentum continued into the third quarter, with Huzzie scoring to give the Grangers a 33-31 lead.

When Thomas scored with 5:15 remaining, the Grangers were ahead 37-31, and they’d outscored the Tigers 15-0.

Williams made a free throw to give the Tigers their first point in a long time, but the Grangers scored the next four points to build a 41-32 lead.

The lead got as large as 12 late before Williams’ strong closing stretch.

LaGrange visits Shaw today for a key region game between teams tied for the region lead.

Game time is 4:30 p.m.