By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Tigers secured third place in Region 5-AAAA with a 62-50 win over the rival LaGrange Grangers on Saturday.

Both teams will be on the road this week for the first round of the state tournament.

After splitting their two regular-season meetings, LaGrange and Troup met for the third time on Saturday.

LaGrange won on its home floor earlier this season, but Troup returned the favor to win the season series.

Junior post player King Mwikuta made his presence known with 18 points, and he was in double digits in rebounds.

Mwikuta was 6-of-7 on free-throw attempts.

Montez Crowe added 11 points, Jarrious Jefferson scored 10 points, and Kobe Hudson had nine points.

For LaGrange, Daz Williams made three 3-pointers and scored 18 points, Bo Russell scored 12 points, and Jordan Ogletree added eight points.

It was tied 12-12 after the first quarter, but Troup heated up in the second period to take a 33-21 lead at the break.

The Grangers outscored the Tigers 23-18 in the third period to get within seven, but they were held to six points in the fourth quarter.

In the earlier game at LaGrange, Troup lost a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, and Craft was pleased with how the players handled being ahead this time around.

“The kids are starting to understand how to finish ballgames,” Craft said. “They see which shots are good, which ones are not. It’s that maturity. They’re starting to see that.”

In the region-championship game, it was Sandy Creek beating Cartersville 62-51.