By Bobby Allen

SDN Sports Editor

The Tigers went down swinging Tuesday, leaving everything on the court in the final district game of the season.

Snyder matched a Seminole team fighting for a playoff spot shot-for-shot, only to fall shy in overtime, 54-53.

“We came out and fought and competed and never gave up,” head coach Bud Birks said. “We outplayed them, but at the end we just didn’t get the calls.”

The teams played to a 10-10 tie in the first quarter, with Lee Scott setting the offensive tone for the night on the first score of the game.

After Seminole took a 2-0 lead, Scott nailed a long three-pointer on the Tigers’ next possession for the first of 11 lead changes throughout the game.

Scott finished his senior campaign with a game-high 18 against the Indians, who moved into a three-way tie for the final postseason spot in District 3-3A.

After the Tigers took a 20-18 lead into the i ntermission, Seminole responded with a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, ultimately taking an eight-point edge midway through the period.

Garrett Pinson scored five of his seven points in the third, getting the Tigers to within one with a three-pointer, before Austin Hatfield -- who canned 12 -- gave the Tigers another temporary lead with a lay-up to make it, 33-32.

After a Ty Caffey lay-up gave the Indians a three-point advantage to start the fourth quarter, Lico Castillo reeled off two consecutive shots from behind the arc to give the Tigers a 39-36 lead.

Seminole again took the lead before Scott hit a two and three to get Snyder ahead, 44-43. Seminole then went on a 5-0 run to take a 48-44 lead as time ran down.

Scott banked in another lay-up to make it a two-point game, and Castillo sank a pair of clutch free throws to tie it at 48.

Castillo’s shot at the buzzer missed to send the game into overtime, where Seminole took advantage of a succession of Snyder fouls to get the win.

Seminole shot 10 free throws in the four-minute overtime frame.

“Tonight we came out fighting and got after it,” Birks said. “We played as hard as we could, but nothing’s perfect. They got all the calls at the end.”

The Tigers finished the season on an 11-game slide, but played as if they, and not Seminole, were clinging to a tournament bid.

“We didn’t have much to lose,” senior Isaac Ramon said. “We tried and gave it all the effort we had, but sometimes things don’t go your way.”

Birks said several factors contributed to the late-season swoon, but praised the work ethic and attitude of his team.

“Lots of things happened this year,” he said. “But there’s something to be said for these kids in this situation -- it says a lot about their character.”

Lamesa fell to Denver City, 54-44, and Merkel crushed Sweetwater, 52-28. The Badgers outscored Sweetwater, 16-0, in the second quarter, and went on a 24-0 run that began in the first period and ended in the third.

That left Sweetwater, Seminole and Lamesa in a three-way tie for the third spot in district.

Seminole won the coin flip at the district meeting this morning in Snyder to get a bye in the district play-in. Lamesa and Sweetwater will play at 7 p.m. Thursday at Post in the first round, with the winner slated to play Seminole at 2 p.m. Saturday in Post.