By Bart Moss / For the FCT

The Red Bay Tigers are headed to the Northwest Regional Tournament for the first time since 1995.

The Tigers established a big early lead over Tarrant in their 2A subregion game and went on to win 60-47 Tuesday. The win pitted the Tigers against the Mars Hill Panthers in the 2A regional tournament at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

“We started the game off well by making our first four shots, allowing us to get a big lead early,” said Red Bay coach John Torisky. “Our boys came out focused on the task at hand, and we were able to hold off their runs with some clutch shooting. It also helped that we had a great crowd. It was as close to a home game as you can have in Birmingham.”

The big lead Torisky was referring to was the 23-9 first quarter lead the Tigers had over Tarrant. Tarrant closed the gap a bit in the second quarter, outscoring Red Bay 14-10 to give the Tigers a 34-25 halftime lead.

Red Bay extended the lead to 49-39 in the third quarter and held on in the fourth quarter for the win.

Gath Weatherford led Red Bay with 23 points. Colton Corum added 15 points. Braden Ray finished the game with eight points, Clay Allison with five points, Peyton Green four points, Hunter Bays three points and Tanner Hamilton two points.