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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Different day, different arena, and a different result.

In Saturday’s regular-season finale, the Troup Tigers were limited to 19 first-half points on the way to a 76-70 loss at Cartersville.

Four days later those same two teams met in the Region 5-AAAA tournament at LaGrange High.

The Tigers had no first-half troubles this time around while building a 41-25 lead, and they  eased to a 73-59 victory to advance to the semifinals while also securing an invitation to the state tournament.

“We scored 19 points at their place, and we scored 41 points in the first half tonight,” said Blake Craft, Troup’s head coach. “That’s just locking in. We’re a good team when we show up.”

K.J. Tucker had a big game for the Tigers with 20 points while making three 3-pointers, senior post player Isaiah Cox had 12 points, and Gabe Cofield added nine points.

Trey Williams and Qua Johnson had eight points apiece, and Jaquavious Whitfield and Ricco Person had six points each.

Troup won for the fourth time in five games, and it will take on top-seeded Sandy Creek on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

“You talk about peaking at the right time,” Craft said. “That’s the biggest things. It’s not about peaking early on, it’s about peaking right now.”

The Tigers were clinging to a two-point lead in the third quarter when they took control.

Beginning with an Isaiah Cox basket, the Tigers went on a 14-0 run to take a 39-23 lead with 41 seconds left in the first half.

Cofield and Johnson both hit 3-pointers during the run, and the Tigers had a 41-25 lead at the half.

The Purple Hurricanes scored the first six points of the second half to get within 10, but the Tigers regained control and took a 58-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

Cartersville never got close than 10 points in the fourth quarter, and Troup won comfortably to keep its