The Charleston Tigers made the trip down Highway 22 recently to play an important conference game with the Paris Eagles. Paris Gymnasium was full of anticipation for the game that featured the Tigers and their star player, Brandon Scott with the then Paris Eagles who at the time were undefeated at 5-0 in conference play. Scott, had just recently scored 40 points in a win for Charleston over Cossatot River.
The Tigers won a hard-fought game over Paris by the score of 60-51. Brandon Scott scored 27 points, but, he was not alone. Several Tigers were instrumental in the win, and the collective talent that featured four Charleston players who had finished as 3A state football champions in December, proved to be just too much for Paris.
After the game, Charleston coach B J Ross commented, “What a great high school environment. Both student sections were locked in! We knew Paris had a good team and knew it would be a physical game. I am proud of how we played defensively and stayed under control mentally. We got big buckets from Drake Dodson. Reese Merechka controlled the offense and that’s huge. Brandon Scott scored 27 points, but I was more proud of the fact that he did it after missing some shots early. He didn’t force or press it, he just let the game flow to him and he got going. Sebastian Gaona, Tyton Jones and Brevyn Ketter do so many little things that go unnoticed in the stat sheet.”
Paris will travel to Charleston on February 7 for the return game at Tiger Center. Looking ahead for both teams, Paris will play at Danville on January 27, and Charleston will host the Booneville Bearcats on January 27.
