The Tullahoma Wildcats (2-2, 9-7) hit 15 free throws in the final quarter to close out a 62-49 win over District 8-AAA rival Franklin Co. on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the THS gym on Jackson St. The win helped erase the sting af a disappointing 46-43 loss to Lawrence Co. on Saturday, Jan. 9. Visit District8aaa.com for scores, standings, and individual leaders.

Tullahoma will continue a stretch that finds it playing six out of seven games at home when it hosts Lincoln Co. on Friday, Jan. 15 in another district contest. The 'Cats will step outside the district with a trip to Warren Co. on Saturday, Jan. 16, before returning home to host Grundy Co. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, with the girls scheduled to tipoff at 6:30pm.

The Wildcats set the tone early against Franklin Co. as Matt Passarello hit two early three pointers to help his team to an 11-3 lead after one quarter.

The lead was extended to 22-9 before the Rebels mounted a little run to end the first half behind a pair of three pointers from Shaquille Burnette. Tullahoma's lead was 25-14 at the intermission and the 'Cats seemed in control of the cold-shooting Franklin Co. squad that hit just 4-12 free throws before the break.

Tullahoma started strong in the third quarter behind three point baskets by Chad Rusk and Geoffrey McGowan to push the lead to 30-14 before the Rebels made another run to close the gap to 35-23 at the end of three quarters.

In the final eight minutes Rusk caught fire, hitting two three pointers on his way to a game-high 18 points. Matt and Mike Passarello combined to make all eight of their free throw attempts as the Wildcats extended their lead to 50-30 with four minutes remaining.

Give the Rebels credit for refusing to quit as they fought back to pull within eight at 57-49, but the Wildcats responded in the final minute to close the door on their second district win. Matt Passarello followed Rusk's 18 points with 14, post player Brandon Berridge added eight points, McGowan had seven, Mike Passarello and Jared Davis added six each, Allen Starks had two, and Matt Ledbetter finished with one point.

The Passarello twins led the Wildcats in rebounding with six each. Josh Cannon found his shooting touch in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his team-high 17 points for the Rebels.

The win helped erase the bad taste remaining from the difficult overtime loss to Lawrence Co. on Saturday, a game that was postponed from Friday due to slippery roads that forced cancellation of school in both Tullahoma and Lawrenceburg. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half as Tullahoma led 10-7 after one quarter, only to see Lawrence Co. tie the score at 15 at intermission. THS dominated the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 16-8 behind nine points from Rusk, who led all scorers with 16 points.

Lawrence Co., which suffered its first district loss on Tuesday night against Shelbyville, fought back and took the lead 34-33 with 3:25 remaining. The lead swapped back and forth until Rusk launched a three-point attempt in the final seconds that rattled around the rim before bouncing away to force overtime.

In the extra period Lawrence Co. successfully put the game away as Tullahoma was hit with multiple technical fouls, leading to a parade of free throws from the visitors. Mike Passarello added 13 points for Tullahoma and led the team with six rebounds, Starks scored five, while Davis, McGowan, and Matt Passarello each added three points.