By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – It was a game the Troup Tigers felt they should have won.

In its Region 5-AAAA opener, Troup went on the road and lost to Chapel Hill 57-51 on Jan. 3.

On Friday night, Troup got another shot at Chapel Hill, and it was a different outcome this time.

Troup, using an outstanding defensive effort, handled Chapel Hill 50-39 to get a much-needed region win.

The Tigers (8-11 overall) improved to 3-4 in the region heading into today’s showdown with Sandy Creek.

The two teams just played on Wednesday, with a strong Sandy Creek team escaping with a 58-51 win.

In Friday’s game, junior guard Jarrious Jefferson came through with a 21-point effort as Troup evened the season series with Chapel Hill.

“You get to a region tournament, you’ll probably seen them again, so that was big,” Troup head coach Paul Brewer said.

The Tigers struggled offensively early on, but they were still ahead 7-5 after the first quarter, and they surged to a 21-13 lead by the halftime break.

Jefferson spurred the second-quarter rally with eight points, and he made two 3-pointers.

Jefferson made two more 3-pointers in the third period, and Troup was ahead 37-26 heading to the final quarter.

The Tigers led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter when Montez Crowe made a 3-pointer, and they had a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Troup will cap a busy stretch with today’s game at Sandy Creek.

It will be Troup’s fourth game in five days, but Brewer said everyone is looking forward to the opportunity to play Sandy Creek again.

“We’ve been traveling, and we’ve got to come in and play tomorrow, and we’re not relenting,” Brewer said. “We’re ready. What I like about this group, and who knows what’ll happen tomorrow, we may get out of gas, but they’re excited to get on the bus. This win tonight puts us kind of where we want to be right now.”

OF NOTE: For more photos from Friday’s game, check out facebook.com/LDNSports