Alabama HS Basketball Game Ties Record for Lowest-Scoring Game with 2-0 Score

With the Bibb County (Centreville, Alabama) Choctaws and the Brookwood (Alabama) Panthers each playing their fourth game of the week, coaches from both teams decided to let their kids play a relaxed game during their Jan. 31 meeting.

Instead of trying to outscore their opponents, the teams played "stall ball." A total of seven shots were taken in the game, with the Choctaws' Brandon Rutledge recording the only points of the night—15 seconds in.

The final score: Bibb County 2, Brookwood 0.

Brookwood coach Thad Fitzpatrick, via Joey Chandler of The Tuscaloosa News, talked about the game plan:

It was not my intention to go into that game and stall. The intention was to get as much rest as we can offensively, and do whatever we needed to do defensively. It was our fourth game of the week, and on Friday night we started cramping a lot, so I made the decision. We played earlier in the year and won, and I just decided we were going to try and slow down the offense, and on defense just guard like we normally do.

Both teams were tired, and the coaches didn't want to run the kids into the ground. It may not have been the most thrilling contest ever, but it was more suspenseful than some high school games.

The National Federation of State High School Associations claims the score tied the record for the lowest-scoring game in the history of high school basketball. Ron Ingram, the director of communications for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, said, "As far as I know, that is the lowest score that has ever been reported [in the state of Alabama]."

The only games known to have ended in a 1-0 score have been the result of forfeits.

Bibb County improved its record to 22-9, and Brookwood dropped to 19-9. Earlier in the season, the Panthers pulled out a 40-36 victory over the Choctaws.

[The Tuscaloosa News]