Valley Sports ReportTIOGA CENTER — Tioga rallied from a 10-point first-quarter deficit, but Groton pulled out a 68-63 win in a back-and-forth affair in the regular-season finale for both teams here Tuesday night.
Groton led 20-13 at the end of the first quarter, but Tioga senior Dominic Palmer scored six points and junior Gavin Kithcart added five points in a 15-4 run that put the Tigers ahead 28-24.
Groton, however, scored the last nine points of the first half to take a 33-28 lead heading into the halftime locker room.
Tioga opened the second half with a 10-2 run to take a 38-35 lead, but Groton answered with a 14-7 spurt to regain the lead, at 49-45, heading into the final eight minutes.
Junior Jackson Bombard scored eight points in the fourth quarter, and senior James Miller drained a pair of 3-pointers, but the Red Hawks made 7 of 10 free-throw attempts down the stretch to pull out the win.
Kithcart scored 19 points and hauled down 12 rebounds, and Bombard scored 15 points and dished out eight assists to lead Tioga, while Palmer had 14 points and six rebounds, and Miller added 12 points on four 3-pointers, six rebounds, and three assists.
Tioga, now 9-11, returns to action next week in the opening round of the Section IV, Class C playoffs. (The brackets will be released Thursday.)
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IN TOP PHOTO: Tioga's Dominic Palmer. IN BOTTOM PHOTO: Tioga's Jackson Bombard. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
