The Demopolis Tigers went on the road to face the Sumter Central Jaguars on Tuesday night, and both the girls and boys team came up short.

The boys led late in the fourth quarter, but late-game execution cost them the lead and the game.

Head coach Rodney Jackson said he was proud of how hard his team played.

“We played really hard like we always do, and it went well until the end,” he said. “Then we gave it away. We had a couple of costly turnovers, and we gave it away there at the end. We made big shots all night, but it boils down to late-game execution.”

The Tigers had a 65-60 lead with under two minutes to play, but fell to the Jaguars, 68-65.

Cortez Lewis led the Tigers with 17 points. Kiante’ Jefferies added 16 points and Roderick Davis had 15 of his own.

The loss moves Demopolis to 8-10 overall and 1-3 in the area.

Jackson still feels good about his team as the area tournament approaches, though.

“I think we can get going and win most of our remaining games heading into the tournament,” he said. “It’s so wide open in our area. Our goal is to win the area tournament and I have the confidence that we can do that. The kids are starting to see their mistakes and realize they can’t make them. I’ve been preaching all year that we’re too good to be making these mistakes. It’s all about discipline.”

The Lady Tigers came up short as well, falling to the Jaguars 35-21. The loss moves their record to 11-4 overall and 1-3 in the area.