Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) and Marshall County met up at Lewisburg for the battle of the Tigers in the second game of Tuesday night’s District 12-AA doubleheader.

It was just a good old-fashion high school basketball game featuring great plays, fierce competition, and clutch shooting as the Tigers of MCHS came away with a 45-44 victory.

With the victory, MCHS moved into a virtual thee-way tie for third place in the district standings.

MCM came out with some hot shooting in the first quarter with three players draining 3-pointers and MCHS’s Caneilus Turner did his best to keep the Tigers close as he scored five points.

The first quarter ended with Magnet leading 11-7.

MCHS came roaring back in the second quarter as freshman Jayden Hurt knocked down four points, Turner added a 3-pointer, Omarion Alred scored four points, and to top off a great quarter, Devonte Davis drained a 3-pointer and sank 5-of-5 free throws to give MCHS a 26-23 halftime lead.

MCHS coach Lavon King said of his freshman Jayden Hurt, “He did a really good job of stepping up and using his body, he has good size and he used it to his advantage.”

MCHS increased their lead in the third quarter as Jayden Hurt continued his strong night’s work with three more baskets while Turner and Silas Hurt also contributed two points each.

Josh Lee nailed a 3-pointer for Magnet, but Davis topped off the quarter with a basket that put MCHS in the lead by eight points, 38-30.

The fourth quarter is when the crowd got excited.

MCM crept closer on baskets by Micah Harris and Avery Lambert and with 2:48 left in the game, they only trailed by two points at 42-40.

Kaamil Hazel made a tough move inside for MCHS with 1:40 on the clock, pushing MCHS out to a four-point lead 44-40.

Harris and Avery struck back for Magnet with baskets after MCHS turnovers to tie the game at 44-44 with 12.3 seconds left.

Alred was fouled with 8.7 seconds left and the sophomore calmly walked to the line and sank the first of a one-and-one situation to put MCHS in the lead 45-44.

“I was just thinking I’ve got to make this, we really need this. It was no pressure,” Alred said.

Alred’s second shot rolled off and Magnet had one more trip down the court to perhaps win the game, but Davis got a piece of the ball, knocking it out of bounds.

The game appeared over, but the officials ruled that there was time left on the clock and Magnet was given one more opportunity to try to win the game.

With 0.03 seconds left, the ball was thrown in, but Turner was there to get a hand on the shot and it fell short of the goal and Marshall County secured the victory, 45-44.

The Tigers head to Chapel Hill Thursday night to face the Rockets, hoping to gain some payback from a 54-47 loss at Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium on January 21.

The Tigers finish off the regular season on Friday night at Nolensville.

“It’s good to get a win and to give the crowd their money’s worth. Now we’ve got to get ready for Forrest on Thursday night,” King said.

Turner echoed his coach saying, “I liked this game, they are a tough team to beat. Now we go to Chapel Hill.’’

The District 12-AA Tournament begins on Tuesday with the top two teams getting a bye, while the three and four seeds host the first round before the remainder of the tournament moves to Community.

MCM 11 12 7 14-44

MCHS 7 19 12 7-45

Murfreesboro Central Magnet (44) Micah Harris 11, Fant Smith 8, Gage Swanson 7, Jayden Hernandez 6, Avery Lambert 6, Kyle Messerly 3, Josh Lee 3.

Three-Point Goals (6): Smith 2, Swanson, Lee, Hernandez, Messerly.

Free Throws (10-for-11): Swanson 4-for-4, Hernandez 3-for-4, Harris 3-for-3.

MCHS (44): Caneilus Turner 10, Devonte Davis 10, Jayden Hurt 10, Omarion Alred 9. Silas Hurt 2, Kaamil Hazel 2, Bryson Hughes 2.

Three-Point Goals (3): Turner 2, Davis.

Free Throws (5-for-6): Davis 5-for-5. Alred 1-for-2, Turner 0-for-1.

Halftime Score: MCHS 26, MCM 23.

District 12-AA Standings

Community 26-1, 9-0

Nolensville 10-14, 5-4

Giles County 6-11, 5-4

MCM 11-14, 5-4

Marshall County 9-12, 3-5

Forrest 3-22, 1-7