DEANDRE STEWART KEEPS HIS CONCENTRATION ON THE HOOP AND SCORES He had 25 points in last Saturday's game against the GMC Bulldogs. In games this week, the Tiger varsity boys basketball team split a pair of region games and won another and Head Coach Don Keiser says he thinks the team has finally hit its stride.

After a disappointing loss in their first region encounter of the season, the Tigers bounced back to win two in a row last weekend. But that loss was a tough one to take and could haunt Washington-Wilkes later in the season when playoff berths are being decided.

The Tigers led the Warren County Screaming Devils by as much as 13 points in the third quarter last Tuesday, January 6, but Keiser said late in the game Warren "got hot and we got not hot." When the Tigers' guns cooled, the Devils pulled ahead and hung on for a squeaky 61-59 win over W-W.

Akiemos Coleman led the way for W-W with 18 points and 10 rebounds - he was the only Tiger to double-double. Deandre Stewart had a dozen points and seven assists. Other notables included Quincey Bradley with eight points, Teverrius Jones with eight points and 10 rebounds, and Matson Keiser with five points and seven assists.

AKIEMOS COLEMAN gets his first dunk of the season. On Friday, the Tigers came roaring back in a "great team effort" to beat Taliaferro County 65-52. But it wasn't a cake walk the whole game through. At the half, W-W was ahead by only two at 29-27.

But in the third, the Tigers outscored their opponent 20-9 and then cruised to the victory.

Coleman again led the team with 24 points. Other Tigers to score in double figures were Bradley (13), Jones (10), and Keiser (10). Jones got the double-double with 10 rebounds. Stewart logged an impressive 12 assists with his four points and seven steals. Keiser added eight assists and eight steals to his credit.

When the GMC Bulldogs came to town on Saturday, the game started off slowly for W-W as GMC jumped out to an early lead. It was a onepoint game at the half but the Tigers exploded with a 16-7 performance in the third quarter and held on to win 63-51 at the end.

Stewart was the star of the night with 25 points, eight assists, and six steals. Coleman double-doubled with 10 rebounds and 17 points including his first dunk of the season. Jones pumped in eight points while pulling down 14 rebounds. Additionally, a "new" Tiger, Neko Jones, shot four points and blocked four shots. "He's a good asset that we picked up at Christmas," Coach Keiser said.

On Tuesday, January 13, the Tigers played their third region game in Augusta against the Fighting Irish of Aquinas. However, results were not known as of this writing. W-W will host Lincoln County on Friday, January 16, and then go on the road for games against Butler and Calhoun Falls on Saturday and Tuesday.

Teams included in Region 4A-A which figure in final standing are Washington-Wilkes, Lincoln County, Aquinas, and Taliaferro County.