The Mount Pleasant Tigers wasted no time in proving they were the best team on the court last weekend as the 4th Annual TRMC Tiger Town Tournament hosted twenty teams vying for the tournament crown. The Tigers went a perfect 5-0 in the large school division taking the tournament championship by defeating Princeton, Braswell, Azle, Corsicana, and Crandall. Chapel Hill also went undefeated to win the small school division, defeating Atlanta in the championship game.

Mount Pleasant 61 Princeton 35
The Tigers opened the tournament on Thursday with a convincing win against recent 5A addition Princeton. Mount Pleasant jumped out to a 15-7 lead after the first quarter and led 32-15 at halftime. Defense would be the theme of the tournament as the Tigers forced 26 turnovers and dominated in the paint with a 36-14 advantage around the rim. Payton Chism led all scorers with 18 points adding 5 assists. Carter Chism joined him in double digits with 10 points and also notched 3 steals. Kelcey Morris added 9 points and Kai Price put up 7 points and 7 rebounds. Xavier Hills and Reggie Webster chipped in 5 points each with hills pulling down 6 rebounds and Webster a team-high 9 rebounds. Also scoring was Luke Hampton 4 points, Kyler Smith 2 points, and De’Keivous Heath 1 point.

Mount Pleasant 65 Braswell 44
The nightcap on Thursday pitted the Tigers against last year’s runner-up Braswell. The Bengals came out hot from three finishing the night 8 for 19 from beyond the arc but the Mount Pleasant defense was just too much as the humid air was the only suffocating presence in the gym. The Tigers forced 21 turnovers which led to 28 points for the home team as Mount Pleasant used a 15-4 third quarter run to pull away and get the decisive win. Payton Chism scored 18 points for the second straight game to go along with 6 assists. Reggie Webster added 16 points along with Kai Price and Carter Chism at 9 points each. Price also pulled down a team-high 6 boards. Kecley Morris chipped in 6 points, Xavier Hills 4 points, De’Keivous Heath 2 points, and Kyler Smith 1 point.

Mount Pleasant 57 Azle 37
Friday proved to be no different as the Tigers put their fifth-straight 20+ point victory on the board versus Azle turning the Hornets over 20 times and winning the battle of the boards 34-28. Mount Pleasant jumped out to a 22-10 lead after the first quarter. Both offenses stalled in the second quarter with the Tigers leading 30-19 but the Tigers would win the third quarter 20-9 and cruise the rest of the way. Payton Chism poured in a season-high 22 points including a 4 for 8 mark from deep and added 7 rebounds for good measure. Luke Hampton added 9 points along with Kelcey Morris and Reggie Webster’s 8 points each. Carter Chism put up 6 points and 4 assists and Xavier Hills and Kyler Smith had 2 points each.

Mount Pleasant 80 Corsicana 23
The Tigers dominated from the start in this one as Mount Pleasant won by their largest deficit of the season. There was a plethora of points in the paint as the Corsicana defense gave up 60 points to the Tigers. Mount Pleasant held the Corsicana offense to single digits in each quarter leading 25-7 after one quarter and 41-14 at the half. The Tigers pushed their lead to 65-19 heading into the fourth quarter. Mount Pleasant shot 69% from the field for their best offensive output of the season. Kai Price led all scorers with 16 points. Luke Hampton also scored in double figures with 14 points and De’Keivous Heath and Carter Chism each had 10 points. Kelcey Morris nearly double-doubled with 7 points and 9 assists. Xavier Hills and Payton Chism also added 7 points. Reggie Webster added 4 points and a team-high 8 rebounds, Kyler Smith had 4 points, and Rylan Hubbs had 1 point.

Mount Pleasant 61 Crandall 33
The Tiger defense was on full display Saturday as Mount Pleasant held Crandall to 25% shooting from the field and turned over the Pirates 20 times. Holding teams to single digit quarters has become a staple of the Tiger defense as they won the first two quarters 14-6 and 17-3 to lead 31-9 at the half. The Tigers would win the third quarter 17-7 and clear the bench the rest of the way. Payton Chism filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kai Price also played well with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Reggie Webster added 7 points, Xavier Hills and De’Keivous Heath each had 6 points, Kyler Smith had 5 points and 7 rebounds, and Carter Chism added 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kelcey Morris and Luke Hampton rounded out the scoring with 4 points apiece.

Payton Chism garnered the tournament MVP award and Reggie Webster was named to the All-Tournament Team. Chism finished the tournament averaging 15.4 points per game and 4.4 assists. Webster was one of the Tigers’ leading rebounders at 5.6 per game and averaged 8 points. Xavier Hills and Kelcey Morris each received Honorable Mention. Hills averaged 1.4 steals and 3.2 rebounds in the tournament and had a monstrous dunk that sent the gym into a frenzy versus Crandall. Morris led the Tigers with 2.2 steals per game to go along with 3.6 assists. Kai Price had one of the best five-game stretches of his career averaging 8.8 points and 6 rebounds per game in the tournament.

The Tigers would like to thank Titus Regional Medical Center, Lighthouse Realty, Pilgrim’s, East Texas Children’s Dentistry, and the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce for helping put on a great tournament.

With the wins, Mount Pleasant moved up to 18 according to TABC and MaxPreps has the Tigers ranked at 6 in 5A. The Tigers will host Tyler Legacy this Friday at Willie Williams Gym with game times slated for 3:00, 4:15, 5:30 PM before beginning district play the following Tuesday at Whitehouse. You can follow Tiger Basketball on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Chapel Hill took down Caldwell 87-41, Alvarado 49-47, Gunter 80-71, and Atlanta 68-50 to take the TRMC Tiger Town crown for the first time after falling in the championship game last year. Braden Buchanan was named tournament MVP and Jaydyn Haley was named to the All-Tournament Team. DeKalb took the Consolation Championship with a 50-41 win over Hemphill.

Large School Champion
Mount Pleasant
Payton Chism – MVP

Large School Runner-Up
Braswell

Large School All-Tournament Team
5 Reggie Webster – Mount Pleasant
4 Gavin Dean – Azle
42 Dilan Lewis – Braswell
35 Lawrence Williams – Corsicana
23 Ty Hurndon – Crandall
10 JeVaughn Martin – Princeton

Small School Champion
Chapel Hill
15 Braden Buchanan – MVP

Small School Runner-Up
Atlanta

Small School Consolation Champion
DeKalb

Small School All-Tournament Team
21 Sha’Marin Lee – Alvarado
24 Aidan Boston – Atlanta
21 Harrison Novak – Caldwell
0 Jaydyn Haley – Chapel Hill
5 Nikereion Marcy – Clarksville
5 Colte Baxley – DeKalb
2 Tristen Linwood – Gladewater
15 Kaiden Pines – Gunter
3 Ashyr Carrington – Harts Bluff
4 Tayvion Williams – Hemphill
5 Kenneth Ross – Jefferson
1 Jadon Horton – Mount Vernon
15 Jacob Graham – Pittsburg