It will go down in the record books as a loss.

But Greenville High School head coach Richard Kelly is hoping there’s more to the Tigers’ 57-55 loss to No. 7 Sumter Central High School than what shows up in the record book.

“I think this is something that can motivate us,” Kelly said. “I told the guys after the loss (on Monday) to let that game eat them up for the night. I challenged them to let it be something that motivates them.”

The Tigers will need the extra motivation as they try to make a run to the state tournament. Greenville played Paul Bryant High School on Friday in sub-regional action. Results were not available at press time.

Kelly said that despite the outcome, he saw positives from Monday’s showdown with Sumter Central.

“It was a complete team effort,” he said. “”All of our guys played hard. They played with a lot of energy. They showed tremendous character. I was proud of them. We just didn’t finish the game off.”

Kelly said he felt like the momentum shifted in Sumter Central’s favor just before the half. With Greenville leading 25-18, the Jaguars went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to just two points.

“We didn’t lose the lead there, but they gained the momentum heading into the third, and I thought we never really got it back,” Kelly said.

Greenville led 44-35 after three periods of play, but the Jaguars just wouldn’t go away.

With nine seconds to play in the fourth period, Sumter Central connected on a three-pointer that put them ahead for the first time.

“They came up big at the end,” Kelly said.

Raheem Moore led Greenville with 17 points. He was also named to the all-tournament team.

Tevin Burns chipped in eight points and D’Raylin McGrew and Javvarius Cheatham each had six points for the Tigers.