Twin Rivers holds off Neelyville in third-place game of Bernie Invitational

BERNIE — It’s always difficult when familiar foes play each other early in the season as neither side wants to show too much.

This was the dilemma for Twin Rivers head coach Seth McBroom and Neelyville head coach Brad Burdin in the third-place game of the Bernie Invitational Tournament on Friday at BHS.

Despite a rally by the Tigers in the third quarter, it was the Royals that emerged with the 56-44 victory to grab third.

“We didn’t really talk about scheme or gameplan,” McBroom said after the game. “We have that love/hate relationship. We’re friends but we hate playing against each other all the time ... We mostly just talked about playing hard and staying positive.”

The Royals played hard early and built a 30-16 lead at the half but Burdin must have sparked his team at the break as they outscored Twin Rivers 17-5 in the third and only trailed 35-33 heading to the fourth.

Enter Carter Williams.

The Twin Rivers sharpshooter finished with career high 27 points, including 12 points with three 3-pointers in the final frame.

“I wasn’t focused on hitting three’s,” he said. “I saw the scoreboard and wanted to keep the score going. Teammates did it all. They set me up.”

Neelyville junior Casen Stephens did his part in the win as he finished with 21 points, including 19 in the second half.

Twin Rivers is at Malden on Tuesday while the Tigers host Campbell on Tuesday in their home opener.