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The Troup boys basketball team got a massive win over rival LaGrange on Thursday, trumping the Grangers 60-45 in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday but was moved up due to inclement weather moving in overnight.

“The guys went out there and played from start to finish and never gave an inch,” Troup coach Vacher Hammett said. “They finally figured out how to close a good game against a good team.”

This was the first win for the Tigers over the Grangers since the 2020-21 season. 

Troup led wire-to-wire as the Grangers struggled on their opponent’s court all night. 

“Last year they blew us out at home and really made us look bad, so the guys have been waiting for a chance like tonight and they took it,” Hammett said. 

The Tigers got off to a quick start, scoring the first four points of the game. Neither offense got much going in the first quarter as Troup took a 10-7 lead after the opening quarter. 

The Tigers offense sprung to life in the second quarter. Troup outscored the Grangers 24-10 in the second quarter which proved to be decisive.

“Usually we get caught up in 1v1 basketball, but tonight they played team basketball and really shared the ball around, it was never sticking,” Hammett said. “You could really see that in the second quarter.”

Jalen Brown was the key to Troup’s offensive turnaround. The junior scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the second.

The LaGrange offense continued to have troubles breaking down the Troup defense in the second half. By the end of the third quarter, the Tigers had built a commanding 52-30 lead.

The Troup offense would hit a major slump in the fourth quarter, scoring just eight points in the period. The Tigers scored just four points in the opening six minutes of the fourth quarter which allowed LaGrange to cut the deficit to 13, but the Grangers never seriously threatened the Troup lead.

Like Brown, Desmon Cunningham was at the heart of most things good on the offensive end of the court for Troup. Cunningham finished with 15 points. 

With offense such a struggle for LaGrange on the night, the team had just one player crack double figures for scoring: BJ Wortham. The senior scored 15 points for the Grangers. Jamarcus Pope and Avion Davis finished tied for second on the team in scoring with nine points apiece. 

The Tigers usually make its bread and butter on offense, but the suffocating defense won them the day on Thursday. 

“Our goal every night is to hold the opponent to under 50 points and we did that tonight against a very good offense,” Hammett said. 

LaGrange fell to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in region play. The Grangers will return to action next Tuesday at home against reigning state champion Sandy Creek. 

Troup improved to 10-4 overall and 4-4 in the region. The Tigers were originally scheduled to play Heard County on the road on Saturday, but inclement weather has caused that game to be postponed, leaving next Tuesday’s road game against Mary Persons as the next time Troup will return to action.

“I told the guys to put that last loss behind them, come out here and win tonight and let’s start a winning streak to end the season,” Hammett said.