BNI NEWS SERVICE

Dallas County only held the lead for three minutes against Chilton County Thursday night, but those three minutes mattered.

The Tigers (11-13) faltered down the stretch, and were stung by the Hornets, 61-58.

CCHS dominated for most of the game, able to counter the Hornets’ size advantage with quickness.

After CCHS forward James Dudley gave his team a 17-11 lead with 1:28 to go in the first, DCHS went on an 8-0 run that ran into the 5:56 mark of the second quarter. Five different players recorded baskets for the Hornets during the stretch, and they took a 19-17 lead.

But the Tigers’ Channon Talley answered with two straight shots to give his team a 21-19 lead.

CCHS went into the locker room with a 28-25 advantage.

It was more of the same in the third, the Tigers holding the Hornets at bay for the quarter. Derreyon Wright gave CCHS a 31-39 lead on a layup with 5:52 left.

DCHS made a 4-0 spurt to end the quarter, but the Tigers still took a 45-41 edge into the fourth.

Momentum shifted minutes later, however.

Andrae Nelson tied the game at 53 apiece with 2:23 on the clock. Rafel Miller then broke the tie with a 3-pointer the next trip down the floor.

With less than five seconds left, the Tigers failed to convert a layup that would have tied the score at 60.

After DCHS’s Josh Spears went 1-of-2 from the line, a desperation shot with .9 seconds left fell short, giving the Hornets the win.

Antonio Perry led the Hornets with 18 points, followed by Miller with 13 and Artelius Dixon with seven.