SPANISH FORT, Alabama — The Bay Minette Tigers used accurate long-range shooting to cushion a mid-game lead over Fairhope’s Pirates who rallied back, but fell short at the end in the boys  Baldwin County Middle School Basketball Championship.

Bay Minette took the title back to the county seat with a 53-48 win in Toro Gym at Spanish Fort Middle School which hosted the county tournament last Wednesday.

“I’m proud of them,” Bay Minette head coach Samm Dortch said. “We got off to a rocky start, but hung in there. We couldn’t knock them (3-pointers) down early. We had trouble getting and keeping the ball. Fairhope did a good job of defense early, making us rush and miss shots and turn it over. And I was concerned because we’re not a second-half team and I wanted us to build a lead, as big a lead as possible because we knew they would make a run and they did.”

The Tigers found their range with about 1:22 left in the first quarter to break an 11-11 tie. Isiah Dortch and Shamone Morris hit back-to-back unanswered treys for a six point lead going into the second quarter. But Fairhope struck back with an 8-6 run before the half to regain the lead 19-17 at the break. Fairhope went cold, however, in the third as the Tigers built a 15-point lead before taking a 39-28 margin into the fourth. The Pirates cut it to five, 49-44 near the two-minute mark of regulation, but Bay Minette matched them point-for-point the rest of the way to preserve the lead and take the win and the championship trophy.

“I told them it would be hard,” Dortch said. “But I don’t think they had a clue it would be this tough. We played them before and won. But every time was a tight game so I’m glad we held them off like we did tonight. I’m proud of that. Fairhope has an awesome team and they never give up, they just keep coming at you, so it feels extra good to get a win when you beat a good team like that.”

Bay Minette finished at 15-1 overall while FMS went 15-7 on the year.

Dortch scored a game-high 22 points and went 8-for-11 at the free throw line to lead the Tigers. He was also named the 2012 Most Valuable Player for the tournament. BMMS teammates Montrey Bishop (19 points) and Shamone Morris ( eight points) were named to the All-Tournament squad along with Cameron Cortinas (12 points) and Andrew Miller (13 points) of Fairhope. Others selected to the All-Star team were Tavaris Curry of Central Baldwin, Tyric Richardson of Daphne, Jakhiry Turner of Foley, Brent Julian of Gulf Shores and Charles Wood of Spanish Fort.

Daniel Miller added eight, Mason Lockhart seven and Ryan Merritt five for the Pirates.

In first-round play, Foley defeated Central Baldwin, Gulf Shores defeated Daphne and Fairhope def. Spanish Fort.