LOCAL SPORTS | Lynchburg — The Fayetteville Tigers walked into MCHS Gym perfect in District 8 play but they sure did not walk out that way.

The Moore County Raiders handed the Tigers their first district loss on Tuesday in Lynchburg by a final score of 54-47. The win improves Moore County’s district record to 3-3 and drops the Tigers to 6-1. As of Wednesday, the District 8A takings are #1 Fayetteville( 6-1), #2 Huntland (3-3), #3 Moore County (3-3), #4 Cornersville (3-4), and #5 Eagleville (1-5).

Moore County came into the game fresh of a tense 64-55 loss against Huntland on Friday in Lynchburg. Officials called five technical fouls including two unsportsmanlike fouls and ejected one Raider fan in the rivalry game. [To read our complete coverage of that game, click here.]

Fayetteville came into the Raider game fresh off a win as well. The Tigers beat Cornersville 71-48 last Friday in Lincoln County in a game that was never in question.

Raiders pull away in the fourth period

Fayetteville jumped out to a 10-8 lead in the first period on Tuesday. Tiger Brayden Hockett scored six of Fayetteville’s 10 first period points. Moore County’s starters spread out the scoring evenly with Colton Bateman, Alex Copeland, Keller Morey, and Will Harder all contributing two points in the first stanza.

Fayetteville got into foul trouble early against Moore County sending the Raiders to the line for eight of their 15 second period points. Moore County held the Tigers to just nine in the second period while putting up 15. Moore County headed into the locker room with a 23-19 lead.

Fayetteville battled back in the third quarter putting up their big period with 16 points. Moore County put up 13 in the third including treys by Keller Morey and Will Harder. At the end of the eight minutes, Moore County clung to a one point lead, 36-35. Foul trouble continued in the fourth for Fayetteville with two Tiger starters fouling out in the final minutes. Moore County scored 18 in the final stanza including 10 from the charity stripe.

Will Harder led for the Raiders with 17 followed by Alex Copeland with 15 and Keller Morey with 13. Colton Bateman added six and Will Baker scored three more.

The Raiders play their fourth straight home game this Friday against Eagleville (4-20, 1-5). They will tip off immediately following the Raiderettes game. If you can’t attend in person, you can watch the Moore County Sports Network broadcast on the NFHS Network by clicking here. Or you can follow the love blog of the game on the The Lynchburg Times Facebook page. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally-owned newspaper in Lynchburg and also the only woman-owned newspaper in Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}