Although they turned in a strong first half performance, the Cornersville Middle School Bulldogs (10-6) were unable to keep pace with Fayetteville for four quarters, as CMS dropped a 37-30 decision to the Tigers at home in their season finale.

Cornersville held a 20-18 lead at the break, but the Bulldogs saw their offense bog down in the second half while Fayetteville outscored CMS 19-10 over the final two quarters to take home the seven-point victory.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph thought his team made major strides during the 2013 campaign.

Improvement

"We made tremendous improvement this season. We went from one win last year to 10 wins this year," said Randolph. "We played the kind of basketball that I want to play and that's getting after people defensively. I felt like we competed in every game."

The Bulldogs committed only 11 turnovers, but shot a woeful 24 percent (10-of-42) from the field and knocked down just 3-of-16 three-point attempts.

Darien Bush led CMS with 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots, while Kolbe McMahon tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds. Will Vanhooser, Cody Umbles, and Eli Woodard chipped in two points apiece for Cornersville as well.

Fayetteville, meanwhile, finished with 17 field goals on 33 percent shooting, which included a 1-of-4 effort from beyond the arc. The Tigers' superior height in the front court also gave the Bulldogs fits, as Fayetteville outrebounded CMS 39-24 and held a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Isaiah Watkins recorded a double-double and paced the Tigers with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Worth Watson and Brandon Moore added seven and four points respectively. Lex Marsh and Weston Moon notched two points apiece for Fayetteville as well with Marsh grabbing a game high 17 rebounds.

Early lead

Cornersville got off to a promising start and raced out to an early 6-0 lead thanks to a fade away jumper by Bush, two McMahon free throws, and a layup by Vanhooser.

The Tigers used a 6-2 run to narrow the gap to 8-6, before McMahon drained a trey to give the Bulldogs an 11-6 advantage late in the first quarter.

After Fayetteville rattled off seven straight points to pull ahead 13-11 early in the second period, CMS outscored the Tigers 9-5 over the final 3:35 of the first half behind five points from Bush and a pair of baskets from McMahon and Woodard to take a 20-18 lead into the break.

The momentum then began to tilt in Fayetteville's favor at the start of the second half, as the Tigers tallied the first six points of the third quarter to seize a 24-20 advantage.

Tigers pull ahead

Bush buried a three to whittle the deficit to 24-23 midway through the third period before Fayetteville outscored CMS 6-3 over the next three minutes to open up a 30-26 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs closed the gap to 30-29 with the help of a Bush layup and a free throw by McMahon, but the Tigers responded with a 7-0 spurt to forge a 37-29 lead with :55 left prior to claiming the 37-30 win.