Down by two points with less than a minute remaining in Wallace Community College’s tilt with Marion Military Institute, Patriots head coach John Williams called guards Tristan Cherry and Andron Stewart over to the sideline.

He reminded the duo that the Patriots needed just a two-pointer to tie. He advised against a three-point shot unless it was wide open.

Evidently, it was too good to pass up, as Stewart uncorked a three-point attempt from the top of the key, only to watch it clank off the right side of the rim into Kendrick Johnson’s hand.

Stewart’s miss clinched a 61-57 win for the Tigers (18-10), who completed the two-game sweep of the Patriots on Thursday night.

“It was just one of those nights where we couldn’t get anything to drop,” said Cherry, who was 2 of 14 from the field.

“He (Stewart) had a clean look at the basket, it just didn’t fall.”

Stewart’s miss aside, the Patriots (6-19, 4-12) were inconsistent from the field all night, shooting less than 35 percent. Their shooting woes only were compounded by their success in the rebounding department. Overall, the Tigers outrebounded the Patriots 46-39, including 33-22 defensive rebound advantage.

“We just stood around and watched tonight, we didn’t box anybody out,” Williams said.

“That’s really been our nemesis this season. We’re really not a big team, but we still have to be able to rebound.”

Williams also was disappointed in regards to his team’s ineffectiveness at converting turnovers into points. For the game, the Tigers had 24 turnovers, but the Patriots converted just 13 points off those mistakes.

“We’re looking at almost 48 points we had an opportunity at,” Williams said.

Conversely, the Tigers got key minutes from their bench, including solid minutes from forward Ryan Green, who scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

In fact, Green’s try at the 11:37 mark of the first half gave the Tigers the lead for good.

“This was a big win for our program,” said Tigers head coach Robbie Robertson.