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The North Middle School Gators lost to the Warren County Pioneers 35-34 at Coffee County Middle School Friday in the third-place game for the Area 6AAA tournament.

The Gators carried an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers rallied past them in the final period as the narrow loss placed them in fourth for the bracket and ended their season.

The Gators allowed just three points in the opening period as they were able to build up an early advantage in the contest.

They led 9-3 after one quarter.

The Gators brought their lead up to double digits in the second quarter as the Pioneers were once again limited to three points for the period. Jackson Knight scored six of North’s 10 points in the second quarter.

North led 19-6 at halftime.

The Pioneers began to find their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, but the Gators remained in firm control and held a 27-16 lead going into the final period.

However, the Pioneers more than doubled their point total in the fourth quarter as the Gators saw their lead completely disappear, and they ultimately came up one point short when the final buzzer sounded.

Monte Johnson led the Gators with nine points for the game, followed by Jackson Knight with eight points and Jayden Cisco with six.

Austin Heath scored five points, Kyran Peace scored four and Cooper Eslick scored two.

With the loss, the Gators finished their season with a record of 3-12.