Dupree sent its beloved coach out with a win.
The Tigers claimed third place at the State B boys' basketball tournament at Wachs Arena with a 64-51 win over South Central on Saturday night.
It was Jim Hood's last game as the Dupree head coach is retiring after this season.
"It is rewarding for me as a coach," Hood said, "being 27 years into it and to end this way and to end with a victory, it is great."
Nate Widow powered the Tigers with 20 points, including 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Kash Deal added 12 points for the Tigers and scored his 1,000th career point during the game. The two seniors led a second half rally to send Hood out with the win.
"He has had a long career," Widow said. "I'm just glad he got a win out of it."
South Central led 23-20 at halftime, but the scrappy Tigers began playing their up-tempo style and created turnovers that turned into fast-break points. Dupree forced South Central in 18 turnovers and had 10 steals.
"We played really good defense," said Deal, who had five steals. "We denied the ball and we moved the ball pretty well. It helped us out."
Widow scored a field goal with two minutes and 10 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Tigers' their first lead of the contest. The Cougars retook the lead on their next possession. Widow then converted a conventional three-point play on a back door cut to the basket. The next time down the floor he scored again on the same play to give Dupree a 40-36 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Tigers never trailed again.
"We had a good spurt there," Hood said. "We started running the plays and executing and things happened for us."
South Central kept it close in the opening stages of the final quarter. The Tigers held a slim 49-46 lead with just over three minutes to play. Deal then converted a conventional three-point play to put Dupree up 52-46 with 3:14 left. The made free throw gave Deal his 1,000th career point.
"I need to thank my teammates," Deal said about the milestone, "thank my coaches. I couldn't do it without them."
Deal then scored again the next time down the floor on a fast break layup. Widow added a pair of free throws to stretch the margin to 56-46 with over two minutes to play. The Tigers then made 8-for-10 free throws in the waning moments to reach the final margin.
"In the second half we didn't execute like we wanted," South Central coach Clayton Steele said. "We wanted to get the ball a little bit more inside. We had some turnovers there. We didn't get some stops on defense and that really hurt."
Tyler Frank paced the Cougars with 20 points and Sam Hazen tossed in 16 points. The duo gave the undersized Tigers fits in the first half. The 6-foot-4 Frank scored nine points in the first half and the 6-foot-5 Hazen added eight points in the first half.
"Tyler Frank and Sam Hazen are strong players in there and our guards did a good job of getting the ball into them," Steele said. "When that happens we have got a chance to be ahead, and we were ahead."
South Central led 15-10 after the first quarter and led by as much as 21-12 with four minutes left in the first half. Dupree closed the first half on an 8-2 surge to get within three at halftime. The Tigers then took control in the third quarter and never looked back.
"We just tried to play our game," Widow said about the second half. "I'm pretty sure they dictated the whole first half, but we tried to come out and play our game."
South Central finishes its season with a 22-4 record. It is the co-op's first time making it to a State B boys' basketball tournament. The co-op is made up of Burke, Bonesteel and Fairfax.
"We think our kids accomplished a lot and they did accomplish a lot," Steele said. "We just wish our seniors well and we will just have to get after it next year."
Dupree finishes its season with a 24-2 record. It has been a fun last few seasons for the Tigers as they have won the three district titles, two region titles and two state tournament appearances.
But on this night, it was all about sending their beloved coach out as a winner.
"Like I always say," Hood said, "when you are surrounded by good people, good things happen."
DUPREE: Trenton Pretty Weasel 1-2 2-2 5, Seth Longbrake 1-4 2-2 4, Nate Widow 5-15 9-11 20, Kash Deal 5-8 1-2 12, Jeffrie Shaving 3-5 0-1 7, Tate Widow 3-3 0-0 7, Creighton LeBeau 2-2 2-2 7, Dayton Spiel 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-39 18-22 64.
SOUTH CENTRAL: Garrett Bruns 0-1 4-6 4, Josh Tuttle 2-7 0-0 4, Dakota Votaw 2-4 0-0 5, Tyler Frank 8-13 3-5 20, Sam Hazen 7-14 2-2 16, Zach Sebern 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 20-42 9-14 51.
Dupree (24-2)| 10 20 40 64
South Central (22-4)| 15 23 36 51
3-point field goals -- Dupree 6-14 (Pretty Weasel 1-2, Longbrake 0-1, N. Widow 1-4, Deal 1-2, Shaving 1-3, T. Widow 1-1, LeBeau 1-1); South Central 2-7 (Bruns 0-1, Tuttle 0-1, Votaw 1-1, Frank 1-2, Sebern 0-2). Total fouls -- Dupree 16; South Central 20. Fouled out -- Dupree, None; South Central, Votaw. Rebounds -- Dupree 21 (N. Widow 7); South Central 27 (Hazen 9). Assists -- Dupree 11 (LeBeau 3); South Central 11 (Tuttle 4). Blocks -- Dupree 2 (N. Widow 1, Deal 1); South Central 3 (Hazen 3). Steals -- Dupree 10 (Deal 5); South Central 5 (Votaw 3). Turnovers -- Dupree 12; South Central 18.