FAYETTE &045; Sure, there was some shaky moments at the end for Jefferson County.

But the Tigers did what they’ve done for the most part the entire season. They pulled themselves together, took a deep breath and did the job.

Turnovers in the final minute helped West Lauderdale get back into the game, but the Tigers got two huge defensive stops after that before Chris Carradine’s bucket with 16 seconds left gave the Tigers a 53-51 win over the Knights in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs Tuesday.

The win puts the Tigers playing the winner of the Morton-Prentiss game in the second round.

&uot;You never want to lose at home or end your season at home,&uot; JC head coach Marcus Walton said. &uot;These kids have a never-say-die attitude. One thing about this team I can say &045; when it gets tough, that makes them pull together. We had two good defensive stops at the end of the ball game, and everybody knows defense wins championships.&uot;

Give the Knights credit to making defensive stands of their own to get back in the game. But a turnover with 43 seconds left turned the tide a bit, and Dewones Smith hit one of two free throws with 35 seconds left to tie the game at 51-51.

Smith then came up with a huge block on West Lauderdale’s next possession, and Joshfer Nichols drove the lane, went up for a shot in the lane but instead dumped it off to Carradine, who laid it up for two points with 16 seconds left for the 53-51 lead.

The Tigers then got a turnover with four seconds left, inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.

&uot;Nobody wanted to lose,&uot; said JC post Juan Wyatt, who had 10 points. &uot;We came together and pulled it out. It (Nichols’ play) was a heck of a pass, and we needed it. Both of us were open, and we needed it. We just came in, worked hard and really wanted it. That’s all. We didn’t want to lose.&uot;

The Tigers had to regroup after the Knights took a one-point lead with 53 seconds on a free throw from Chris Seaphus for a 51-50 lead. The shot capped an 8-2 West Lauderdale run that started with a basket from Scott Grody with 3:54 left to cut Jefferson County’s lead to 48-45.

The tigers had three turnovers, and the Knights &045; who lost to Jefferson County in the South State final a year ago &045; capitalized.

&uot;It was a good game,&uot; West Lauderdale head coach Duran Clark said. &uot;It’s a shame one of the teams had to lose. I really don’t have a whole lot to say right now to be honest with you.&uot;

The Tigers (16-11) started to pull away in the third quarter a little bit despite yielding 3-point bombs to West Lauderdale’s Bon Ramsey, who finished with six for the game and scored 23 points.

But the Knights had the same problem with Jefferson County’s Smith, who had six of his own to finish with 19 points.

&uot;We knew from last year he’s not a put-it-on-the-floor-type person,&uot; Walton said. &uot;He likes to catch and shoot it. He’s one of the best catch-and-shoot guys you’ll find. We wanted to step up and make him put it on the floor. We put big Wyatt over there and made him shoot over Juan. We’ve got to continue to rebound. If we defend and rebound, there’s no limit.&uot;

Smith hit a 3-pointer with 6:12 left in the third to put the JC lead at 32-27, and Wyatt followed with a bucket some 30 seconds later for a 34-27 lead for the team’s biggest lead of the game.

But Ramsey answered with a 3-pointer before Grody tossed in a bucket to put the deficit at 34-32 with 4:45 left.

The Tigers led by five on a 3-pointer from Smith with 4:20 left in the fourth for a 48-43 lead.

&uot;We talked about it last year,&uot; said Smith, who dedicated the game to his cousin, Kreg, who recently passed away. &uot;He (Ramsey) said he was coming back this year. I said, ‘If you get there, we’ll get there.’ I feel like nobody can out-shoot me.&uot;

Ramsey drained three 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Knights built a lead. The last one came with 3:46 left for a 19-15 lead, but Smith answered with two of his own for a 21-19 lead with 3:07 left.

Eddie Davenport put in a bucket right after that for a 23-19 JC lead.

&uot;Dewones and this whole team has taken on a new attitude,&uot; Walton said. &uot;Those were some big 3’s. With Josh and Juan, that’s a great 1-2 punch. But with Josh, Juan and Dewones, that’s a great 1-2-3 punch. We needed those three clicking.&uot;