St. Philip Crowned Region 25 Champs

The Saint Philip Fighting Tigers’ quest for a boys’ varsity basketball state title is now one step closer following their 61-44 win over the Covert Bulldogs Wednesday night at Portage Central High School.

Saint Phil trailed 9-8 at the end of the first period but quickly turned things around in the second to take a 20-17 lead into the locker room at the half.  The Fighting Tigers continued to pull away from the Bulldogs as the scoreboard showed a score of 42-28 going into the final eight minutes of play.  Covert never gave up but could not close the gap as Saint Philip continued to increase its lead en route to capturing the Region 25 Class “D” title.

Alex Doyle led the Fighting Tigers’ scoring attack with 21-points, followed by Hunter Haley with 13-points and Tyler Hubbard-Neil with 10-points.

Saint Phil will now take on the winner of the Region 26 Class “D” title, either the Morrice or Adrian Lenawee Christian, in the state quarter finals at Battle Creek Central’s gym next Tuesday night.

Photos and story by Art Frith