Alcoa

Freshmen come up big to help Tornadoes win region championship at Gatlinburg-Pittman

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – Eli Graf hadn’t attempted a shot for nearly 29 minutes on Thursday night, but with under three minutes remaining in the Class 2A Region Championship, the freshman hit a three to tie the game at 54-54 and then put Alcoa up 57-54 and ahead for good with under two minutes left with another triple. Freshman Eli Owens also pulled down crucial rebounds and made timely baskets throughout the game. “Eli Graf hadn’t taken a shot all game and comes out and sticks two in that big moment, right there, unbelievable,” Alcoa coach Ryan Collins said. …

Ainsley Pfieffer

Alcoa advances to second consecutive regional final with 73-56 win over South Greene

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – Alcoa came out hot on Monday night and never took their foot off the gas, as the Lady Tornadoes led by double digits after the first quarter and never let the lead shrink to single-digits again, winning 73-56. The win advances Alcoa to the region championship with an opportunity to face Gatlinburg-Pittman — who defeated Happy Valley later Monday night — for the fourth time this season. Both matchups in Gatlinburg, the Lady Tornadoes have lost, and Wednesday night’s game will be at the same location. “We wanted to give ourselves another shot to get …

Gatlinburg-Pittman

Gatlinburg-Pittman defeats Alcoa 81-56 for back-to-back district championships

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – Gatlinburg-Pittman jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed, as the Highlanders won 81-56 to win their second consecutive district championship. Gatlinburg-Pittman withstood a heavy punch by Alcoa in the second quarter, before going on a 14-0 run to lead by 16 at the half. The Highlanders blew the game open in the third quarter, leading by as many as 31 points. Four starts graduated from last season’s district championship team, with Houston Byrd as the only holdover in the starting lineup. One year later, with a retooled starting lineup, and a freshman phenom …

Alcoa-Fulton

Lady Tornadoes overcome slow start to defeat Fulton 53-40

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – The Lady Tornadoes overcame a slow start offensively to pick up a 53-40 win over Fulton, as Karli Haworth scored 13 of her 21 in the second half and Macie Ridge scored 12 of her 19 after halftime. “There weren’t a whole lot of x’s-and-o’s adjustments (at halftime), but we did go over some things that we didn’t execute very well,” Alcoa head coach David Baumann said. “Not to take any credit or anything, but the girls just hit shots and that’s the difference. We started hitting some shots and we got a little bit …

Jahvin Carter

Alcoa overcomes 17-point second half deficit to defeat #6 Fulton

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – Fulton came into Alcoa on Thursday night and led the Tornadoes by as many as 17 in the third quarter, but Jahvin Carter score 24 of his 32 points in the second half to pull out a 57-56 come from behind win over the Falcons, who came in as the 6th-ranked team in Class 3A. “We’ve had our struggles the whole season and we’ve been down and out and given into frustration,” Alcoa head coach Ryan Collins said. “I’m so proud of the kids tonight, because they didn’t take that path tonight. They chose a …