BY BRIAN HAMILTON
GATLINBURG – Trion (GA) came into the semifinals of the Smoky Mountain Winter Classic with a perfect 12-0 record, but left with its first loss of the season, as Gatlinburg-Pittman bludgeoned the Bulldogs 86-56.
The game was never really close past midway through the second quarter, as stalwarts Carlos Orr and Ty Glasper imposed their will on the game early and often. Glasper got to the rim almost any time he wanted and Orr was a rebounding machine, finishing with a game-high 13 boards.
Ty Glasper (10) goes up for a basket while Trion’s Jase Mason (12) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“When we went and evaluated them, I felt good, but them I turned the film on, I saw a few good things,” Gatlinburg-Pittman coach Rashid Moore said after the game. “We didn’t want to come in here too confident and get our head busted, but we came in humble and handled business and I am happy with the results.”
Wade Whaley opened the scoring for Gatlinburg-Pittman on a layup and foul, but missed the foul shot, giving the Highlanders an early 2-0 lead. Camden Richardson cleaned the glass off a Carlos Orr miss and scored, followed by another Whaley layup on a fast break to give GP an early 6-0 lead.
Caden Hinton scored on a layup to put Trion on the board, making the score 6-2 with 4:44 left in the opening quarter. Ty Glasper would answer, however, as he hit a jumper to push the Gatlinburg-Pittman lead to 8-2.
A floated by Labrian Ludy would trim the Highlander lead to 8-4, but a three by Whaley would give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 13-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. Whaley finished the quarter with seven points.
Trion pulled to within 13-9 on a Gavin Gillum three-pointer, but the Highlanders would then embark on a 10-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Charlie Yazel and a floater by Carlos Orr, stretching the lead to 23-11. Gatlinburg-Pittman would lead 23-13 after the first quarter.
Trion would go on an 8-2 run to open the second quarter, cutting the Highlander lead to 25-19, but a nice pass by Ethan Reagan to Glasper resulted in a three-pointer to give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 28-19 lead with just under five minutes left in the half.
“They’re a good team, so I knew they would score, but we just lost focus and lost energy and were getting outworked,” Moore said of the Trion second quarter run. “When you get outworked bad things happen. We focused in on trying to reset and I think they did a good job of resetting with a zero to zero mentality. We try to challenge them and I think they did a good job.”
Carlos Orr (2) goes up for a bucket against several Trion defenders. Orr finished the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Reagan then nailed a three of his own to put the Highlanders in front 31-21, followed by six consecutive points by Glasper, which gave the Highlanders a commanding 37-21 lead with 3:25 left in the half.
Gatlinburg-Pittman would take a 49-31 lead into the intermission.
The Highlanders continued to dominate in the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run to open the second half, capped by a Seth Sutton layup, which made the score 57-31.
Orr threw down a dunk on the fast break to give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 63-38 lead with 2:30 left in the third. The Highlanders took a 30-point lead when Richardson converted an old-fashioned three-point play, giving Gatlinburg a 73-43 lead with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
Trion banked in a long three-pointer at the third quarter buzzer, but the Highlanders were in full control, leading 76-46 after three quarters.
Gatlinburg-Pittman would go on to win 86-56 and advance to the championship game against on Friday night.
The Highlanders were well-balanced offensively, as Carlos Orr led all scorers with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Ty Glasper finished with 18 points and six assists. Camden Richardson finished with a double-double, registering 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Wade Whaley also scored 10 points.
Wade Whaley (12) goes up for a layup on a fast break. Photo by Brian Hamilton
One of the unsung heroes Thursday night was rebounding machine Cam Richardson. Moore spoke highly of Richardson’s efforts after the game, as the undersized forward never shies away from going in among the trees and grabbing rebounds and getting buckets.
“Cam has been in our program all four years and he understands that in order to maintain minutes, you have to perform and he’s been doing a good job of making his presence felt in games,” Moore said. “He’s a strong kid and he’s got a quick first step and he understands balance and leverage, so we’re proud of Cam and hopefully he can keep it going.”
Gatlinburg-Pittman (15-2) will put its 11-game win streak on the line at 7 p.m. Friday night against Monroe County (KY) who enters the game with an 8-3 overall record. The game will be played in the Gatlinburg-Pittman High School gymnasium.