Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The Lewis County Panthers 6th Grade TVBA team traveled to Deshler, Alabama, and Deshler High School to play in the Tennessee Valley Basketball Association Regional Tournament on Saturday, February 26th, in an effort to reach the TVBA Final Four.

In the opening round of the tournament the 6th Grade Panthers took on the 6th grade boys from Columbia Academy. Lewis County fell behind early as they struggled to find points and Columbia Academy doubled up the Panthers 16-8 before the break for the half. The Panthers stormed back in the second half of the game as Brogan Arledge (10) and Jaxon Long (9) while holding the Bulldogs to only 10 points in the closing of the game. Lewis County would drop 23 in the second half to take a 31-26 victory in the opening round. Jaxon Long led the Panthers with 12 points on 4 3-point baskets, Brogan Arledge added 10 points, Eli Chapin had 4 points, Cruz Forrester had 3 points, and Nolan Whitehead had 2 points.

The Panthers would face the 6th grade boys from Florence (AL) Central in their second game of the bracket. Florence took advantage of their size early on in the second game. The Panthers found themselves playing from behind in the opening half of the game as Florence was able to build up a 20-11 lead in the first. The Panthers continued to fight in the second half, trying to overcome the Florence lead. But in the end, it was Florence that pulled away to take the win by a score of 42-25. Eli Chapin led Lewis County with 7 points, Nolan Whitehead added 6 points, Cruz Forrester had 5 points, Jaxon Long had 4 points, and Brogan Arledge 3 points.

The Panthers qualified for the TVBA Final Four as the #2 seed in the 6th Grade Boys Middle Division and will play the #3 seed Brooks (AL) on Saturday, March 12th at Muscle Shoals High School in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.