In a game that went down to the wire, the Morgan Senators JV boys dropped a close one to the Glenwood Academy Gators 40-31.

The loss knocked the Senators out of their home tournament.

“We played with a lot of fire and a lot of heart,” said Senators’ coach Rand Smith of his young Senators.

Aided by their 6-4 forward Tanner Thomson’s 11 points and a few key 3-pointers from Troy Beck, the Gators were able to take an early lead and would have to hold on for dear life as the game went on.

“We were really out-sized in this one, they had at least three kids that were taller than my tallest,” said Smith. “We tried to crack the lanes in the zone, but had trouble.”

The Senators were down 18-13 at the half, but good defense and buckets from Ford Manderson and Connor Henderson helped them pull to within three going into the fourth quarter.

After trading buckets for the first few minutes of the last quarter, Henderson drew a foul with a little under three minutes left and sank both free throws to climb to within one of the Gators.

However, that would be as close as the Senators would come.

A quick basket by the Gators’ Andrew Swindle followed by a quick 3-pointer by Trey Beck gave Glenwood the breathing room it needed to finish off the game from the free-throw line.

“I’m really proud of the way our kids played,” said Smith. “They save their best game for this one.”

Henderson led all scorers with 16 points and earned all-tournament honors in the process.

Morgan is scheduled to play Monday in Alabaster against Kingwood Christian School and will be at home against Clark Prep School Tuesday.