By Michael Lindsay
Friday’s District 7-3A boys tournament opening-round games went to the higher seeds as Livingston Academy defeated DeKalb County 71-56 while White County defeated Cumberland County, 71-56.
Livingston opened the boys tournament with a 15-point victory over DeKalb County behind 25 points from Wyatt Hargis and 17 by Daniel Bilbrey. Connor Close recorded 22 points in his final game for the DeKalb County Tigers.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, Livingston Academy took a double-digit lead (33-23) via a Tucker Miller three-pointer with 1:23 remaining in the second period.
A Hargis three-pointer gave the Wildcats a 15-point lead (44-29) early in the third quarter. LA led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before going on to win by a 71-56 final score.
Livingston advances to face Stone Memorial in the tournament semifinals Saturday at 5:30 p.m. LA was swept by Stone Memorial in the regular season.
White County wrapped up the night with a 61-44 victory over Cumberland County behind 19 points from Jackson Young and 17 by Cole Sims.
A Tripp Pinion basket with 5 seconds left in the first gave the Warriors a 12-6 advantage entering the second period. White County outscored Cumberland County 17-8 in the second quarter to take a 29-14 lead into halftime.
The Warriors controlled the second half as they went on to win by a 61-44 final score.
White County advances to face #1 seed Upperman at 8:30 on Saturday at Tennessee Tech University.
