A slow start and fast Silsbee, Texas, team combined to sink La-Grange 90-64 Saturday in the championship game of the Gators’ War in the Swamp tournament.

Tigers guard Jared Harris scored 25 points and caused trouble for LaGrange at both ends early in the game.

Silsbee (10-3) opened with a 10-0 blitz and never trailed. Harris made steals on LaGrange’s first two possessions, scoring on the first and dishing to Marcus Botley

for a 3-pointer on the second. Harris drilled a 3-pointer on the next Silsbee possession and finished the quarter with eight points.

“We didn’t come ready to play and maybe were intimidated a little bit to start,” LaGrange head coach Jason Wilson said. “We settled down after that and played better.

“We were hurrying too much at the start. We competed better the rest of the game, but Silsbee has a great team. They always do.”

Harris scored 13 more in the second quarter as Silsbee stretched the lead to 17 points by halftime.

The Gators (5-4) got within six points late in the first quarter but Silsbee scored 28 in the second. Gerimiah Jackson scored eight in the quarter.

Caleb Mitchell led LaGrange with 14 points, scoring on a series of runners and floaters in the lane. He also added three steals on defense. Kareem Ceaser scored 13 points for LaGrange.

Earlier in the day, La-Grange held off a Lincoln Prep second-half rally to win 53-47 in the semifinal round. Silsbee advanced with an 86-58 win over Jennings.

Wilson said he liked the way his team played in the tournament.

“We were able to get some good work in through the weekend.” he said.

“The first night, against Bunkie, we didn’t play well but we found a way to win in the second half. Today we played a great team and we competed; we never gave up. That’s all I can ask from our guys.”