By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

Luck wasn’t on Troup’s side this time around.

The Tigers had been on the winning end of two recent nail biters, but that changed with a 51-46 setback to Region 2-AAA rival Shaw on Friday night.

Trailing by three points with less than five seconds remaining, senior Jonathan Boswell’s game-tying shot was just off the mark.

The loss dropped Troup to 5-5 in region play, and lifted Shaw to second place in the standings at 7-3.

Being in position to win it was reason for Tigers’ coach Thermond Billingslea to take something positive from the loss.

“That’s all I ask of the guys is to stay with it until the end,” Billingslea said. “It didn’t work for us tonight, but I’m very pleased with the effort.”

Troup led for most of the first half, and held a 32-25 advantage after two quarters.

A two-point Troup lead heading into the fourth wasn’t enough to stop Shaw, which went on a 7-0 run to open the final quarter.

The Raiders went ahead by five points before Troup rallied to tie it and take a brief lead.

With a one-point advantage, Shaw drained nearly all of the final minute before Deionte Corprew was fouled. He nailed both free throws, setting Troup up for a game-tying shot.

Boswell finished with 14 points, followed by Jawuan McGee with eight points and Rashad Miles with seven.

Sophomore Eric Bridges, one of the team’s leading scorers, didn’t play in Friday’s game due to suspension. Billingslea said his return is “questionable” for the remainder of the season.

With the region’s No. 2 seed out of sight, Billingslea is hoping the Tigers continue fighting hard in the final week of the regular season.

“Every game, we need to play as hard as we can,” Billingslea said. “There’s not much more learning we can do in practice but to polish what we’ve got. We have to keep a good mental attitude. If we focus on the right direction and keep playing hard, we’ll be all right.”

The Lady Tigers dropped to 1-8 in region play with a 47-32 loss to Shaw on Friday.

Shaw was able to run away with the game in the third quarter, outscoring Troup 11-6.

Shamiya Brooks led the Lady Tigers with 15 points, and Jessica Gilbert tallied nine points.

Both Tiger squads take on Kendrick on the road Tuesday.