The Greenville Tigers varsity boys basketball team shifted into a hidden sixth gear in a runaway 88-61 win over the visiting Carroll Eagles.

But the enormous deficit of the second half betrayed an incredibly competitive first half, though the Tigers largely dictated the pace of the first half, as well.

Greenville earned an early double-digit lead with 5:48 remaining in the half courtesy of a stellar performance at the free throw line from Charles Warren, who proved automatic for the duration of the night at the charity strike.

But a Carroll run late in the second reduced Greenville’s lead to almost nil in no time as a series of disastrous Tiger turnovers cut the lead to just 1.

An unorthodox turnaround jumper from Allen Smith got the ball rolling for Carroll and stole the lead, as well as the momentum, from Greenville, though the Tigers would hold on to a narrow 1-point lead at the half.

A barrage of baskets dominated the pace at the start of the third as Warren found nothing but net from beyond the arc for a pivotal 3-pointer and a Greenville lead.

Trydarius Patton delivered another dagger from behind the line to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6, forcing a Carroll timeout in the process.

Warren proved money again for Greenville’s third consecutive 3-pointer, flustering the Eagles’ defense even further and paving the way to an eventual 13-0 run.

Equally important to Greenville’s second-half domination was the Tigers’ smothering defense from the inbound pass, which caused chaos in the Carroll backcourt and disrupted their offensive rhythm.

Greenville domination continued well into the fourth as the defensive dismantling began to affect Carroll’s shot selection.

Difficult shots failed to fall for the Eagles, and the snowball effect compounded until Greenville’s already-sizeable lead grew well out of hand.

The Tigers’ victory earned the team a ticket to Dothan for Monday’s South Regional showdown against Faith Academy School at 1:30 p.m.