After losing for the first time in over two years to Spring Hill in the season opener, the LMS Tigers re-ignited their high flying act Monday night Lewisburg, soaring over the E.A. Cox Cougars 46-34.

"We are a young team, and I thought we were composed in our play," said LMS head Coach David Lovell.

The Tigers pounced early, taking a 12-0 lead before the Cougars finally scored with 1:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Confidence

"We started strong and built momentum and confidence, which carried us throughout the game," said Lovell.

Wesley Walker got things going with a three-ball and Caleb Fields made it 5-0 with a rebound and put-back.

Moments later, K.J. Johnson drained a long three-pointer to open up an 8-0 lead.

Two possessions later, Fields grabbed an offensive rebound and fed a perfect pass down court to Walker for a lay-up, making it 10-zip.

DeMonte Lyles broke the goose egg with a bucket for the Cougars and Javari Braden added a basket for the visitors, but Fields netted the final bucket of the first period to give the hometown cats a 14-4 lead.

Cougars claw

The Cougars cut into the Tigers' lead in the second quarter, outscoring LMS 10-7 to trail 21-14 at the half.

A Lyles' free throw, followed by a Dre McAllister basket made it a four-point ballgame at 21-17 before the Tigers took off again.

Kamron Hightower began a six-point surge with a rebound and put-back, while Fields added the other four points on a steal and score, followed by a circus move in the paint, re-opening a 10-point lead for the Tigers.

The Cougars held firm again with a 9-4 run to end the third quarter, slicing the LMS lead in half at 31-26.

Fields opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter and Johnson scored next on a swipe and score, making it 36-26.

One touch later, Johnson drained a three-bomb to open up a 13-point lead, forcing an E.A. Cox timeout with 4:15 left in the contest.

Key three

Lyles scored for the Cougars, but Walker came back with a huge trey to stretch the LMS lead to 42-28.

Over the final two and a half minutes, LMS scored four points to Cox' six in the 12-point victory.

Fields led all scorers in the contest with 16 points, while Walker and Johnson both finished in double digits with 14 and 13 points respectively.

"I am always pleased when we have multiple players score in double figures, which makes us much harder to guard," said Lovell.

Hightower ended up with six points to round out the LMS tally sheet.

"We have confidence in our ability to compete with anyone on any given night," said Lovell. "We need to work on limiting our turnovers and keep getting better defensively."