If there is such a thing as a good loss, Caldwell County got it Friday afternoon.
Down double figures early against an athletic team from Southwind, out of Memphis, the Tigers battled back to take the lead in the second half before falling 52-47 at the West Kentucky Hoops Classic in Princeton.
Caldwell (4-6) had the ball down 49-47 with under 30 seconds to play, but a runner in the lane by Jamarius Blaine wouldn’t go down as the Tigers just missed tying the contest.
Southwind (10-5) threatened to blow open the game early, leading 14-4 after one period and taking a 22-10 advantage midway through the second quarter.
But the Tigers fought back to within 28-26 at halftime to gain some momentum.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Tripp Branch put Caldwell up 35-33 with 4:39 left in the third quarter.
But Southwind countered with six straight points and took a 39-37 edge to the fourth quarter.
Caldwell never drew even again, but the Jaguars could never shake the Tigers either.
A 3 by Cole Smiley cut Southwind’s lead to 49-47 with 1:35 to play.
After Caldwell’s miss late to try to tie it, the Jaguars hit three of four free throws in the final 23 seconds to put the game away.
Davonte Tucker, a 6-6 freshman, led Southwind with 15 points and was named the Jaguars’ MVP. Southwind also got 12 points from Andre Eason and 11 from Tarim Stewart.
Caldwell got 16 points apiece from Branch and Adarius Riley. Riley was named MVP for the Tigers.
Caldwell, which had a four-game winning streak snapped, plays Clarksville Northeast on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the final game of the West Kentucky Hoops Classic.
Southwind 14 14 11 13 — 52
Caldwell County 4 22 11 10 — 47
Southwind (10-5) — Tucker 15, Eason 12, Stewart 11, Rosser 7, Thomas 5, Sawyer 2.
Caldwell County (4-6) — A. Riley 16, Branch 16, Smiley 6, Spikes 3, Blaine 2, East 2, Fraliex 2.
