By Thomas Sellers Jr.
In the previous matchup between the Millington Trojans and Bolivar Central Tigers, the difference was four points with the Tigers winning 61-57. The Jan. 22 game in the William Osteen Gymnasium was a contest of endurance for Bolivar as it nursed a narrow led throughout the second half to hold on for victory. The rematch schedule for Feb. 8 at Bolivar was moved to Millington because of the flu canceling all school activities on the BCHS campus. The Tigers once again would outlast the Trojans to cross the finish line victors 58-55. The rematch was close throughout with Bolivar leading 15-13 after one quarter. The Trojans tried to established the paint with interior players Bobby Macklin and Taveon Collier combining for 8 of those points. After Macklin tied the game at 15-15 with a pair of foul shots, Bolivar surged ahead with a pair of three-pointers. Millington rallied with a 7-0 run to grab a 22-21 advantage. Trojan Chris Parker had the highlight play during the stretch with a drive to the rim drawing a foul. His three-point play made the score 21-20 in favor of Bolivar. The Tigers won the rest of the second quarter outscoring Millington 10-5 to take a 31-27 lead into the locker room. The Trojans came out firing in the third quarter winning the period 22-17. Millington senior Hunter Klutts found his shooting touch hitting a triple to deadlock the game at 40-40. Seconds later he hit another triple that made the score 43-40 in favor of the Trojans. Macklin started to regain control of the paint with a three-point play and a bucket making the score 49-48 in favor of Millington entering the fourth quarter.
Bolivar grabbed a 53-49 lead in the final period. The Tigers spent the rest of the period playing keep-away with the advantage to earn the three-point District 15-2A win.
