For the second consecutive week, Tucker High basketball did what it does best: get to the rim and play relentless defense.

The Tigers drove to the basket with a purpose with little interest in any defender standing in the way. This is Tucker basketball and it propelled them to a 61-54 win over a talented North Cobb Christian on Saturday at the Jared Cook Classic.

“We are going to play Tucker basketball,” Tigers coach James Hartry told his team at halftime. “We decided we are going to guard our guy.”

Tucker (2-0) trailed most of the game, but the Tigers focused man-to-man effort ultimately paid off in the second half. NCC (0-1) had to work a lot harder at getting open shots, unlike the first half.

As the Eagles shooting cooled off, the Tigers also started getting opportunities at the rim. Leading the way was Tigers’ senior Jon Dunmeyer (pictured). The unsigned senior scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the second half.

“Coach just told us to attack the rim,” Dunmeyer said.

 6-foot-8 forward TJ Thomas was solid in containing the Eagles interior presence. He was in charge of playing 7-foot Trey Kalina. Thomas was active blocking shots, rebounding and holding the NCC big man to single digits.

Thomas finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“We knew TJ could stay with the big man and we just pushed up on them,” Hartry said. “We couldn’t play their style. They are a well-coached team that can hit shots. We still couldn’t keep up with them.”

The Eagles knocked down shots from all over the floor. However, when they needed a basket, they were unable to really get a good look. Kendall Crute, an Ohio University signee, finished with 17 points to lead the Eagles. Mercer signee Stephon Jelks chipped in with 14.

Tucker’s Shembari Phillips chipped in with 11 points. Teammate Joshua Parker added 11.