(Todd Griffin Photo)
Caldwell County has had its share of comeback victories this season, but the Tigers’ rally against Clarksville Northeast on Friday fell just a little short.
Down nine with under 6 minutes to play, the Tigers clawed their way back to within 58-56 on a 15-footer by Tripp Branch with still 3:40 remaining in the contest.
But Caldwell couldn’t complete the comeback against an athletic Northeast squad. The Eagles (7-8) outscored the Tigers 13-6 down the stretch to take a 71-62 decision — Northeast’s second win in as many days at the West Kentucky Hoops Classic in Princeton.
Junior Ty Jackson scored the last nine points of the game to help the Clarksville school put the game away. He finished with a team-high 20 points while also adding nine assists and four rebounds.
Jaylan Miller scored 16 points and Josh Alexander netted 13 points for Northeast, which defeated Booker T. Washington of Memphis 62-60 on Thursday.
Derrin Boyd had 27 points and 11 rebounds to pace Caldwell. Branch finished with 11 points, but the Tigers couldn’t match the hot shooting of their two wins in the event on Thursday.
Caldwell, which shot over 50 percent from 3-point range in victories over Fulton City and Brighton, Tenn., connected on only 5 of 19 from long range against Northeast for just 26.3 percent.
Northeast led most of the way, but never by more than nine points. Caldwell’s only lead came at 26-25 late in the first half following a Branch 3-pointer. But Northeast got to halftime with a 29-26 advantage.
Each time the Eagles would try to extend their lead, Caldwell would battle back to make it close.
The game was tied 29-29 early in the second half following a 3 by Caldwell’s John Davis.
But Northeast scored the next eight points and led the rest of the way.
Caldwell (9-4) saw its four-game winning streak snapped. The Tigers will return to action next Friday, Jan. 4, with a home 7th District matchup against Dawson Springs.
