BY BRIAN HAMILTON MARYVILLE – Eagleton picked up a crucial district win on Monday night, as the Royals held off a Pigeon Forge comeback for a 70-63 win. Eagleton saw a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter dissipate to a 1-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but resiliency was what helped the Royals come away with the win. “We didn’t cover the middle, but Pigeon Forge did a lot of stuff to make that happen,” Eagleton College & Career Academy head coach Scott West said after the game. “They spaced it well and (Chris) Fudger’s a real nice …
Rebels take down Morristown West behind Martin dunkfest
BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Devyn Martin dunked the first two points of the game. Then he dunked the next two. The senior standout dunked frequently on Monday night, totaling five slams in the contest. Morristown West had no answer for Knox West’s size, as Martin and fellow senior Kevin Jack were able to have their way in the frontcourt and on the glass, as the Rebels came away with a 74-53 win. The win was a huge morale builder for West after having over one week off to bask in its last minute defeat in the Sevierville Winterfest Shootout …
Sevier County defeats White County for third place in Winterfest Shootout
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County was coming off a controversial loss to Lipscomb Academy in the semifinals of the Winterfest Shootout and could have hung their heads going into the third-place game of a holiday tournament. With the game at home and the stands packed with local supporters, the Smoky Bears came out strong and dominated White County 64-30 to place third in the tournament. Nate Griffin opened the scoring with a three to put White County in front 3-0, but Sevier County countered with a three of their own to tie the game at 3-3. Reed Ownby …
Sevier County downs Cherokees 83-51 in first round of Winter Shootout
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – While Sevier County is severely limited due to injuries, from leading scorer Jett Sutton, to starting power forward Parker Newman, to defensive stalwart Roman Gibbons, among others, the Smoky Bears came out strong against South-Doyle on Friday afternoon. Sevier County took an early lead and never looked back, as the Smoky Bears shredded the Cherokees 83-51. South-Doyle played as tough as it could, given that Vito Henderson nailed six three-pointers, but it wasn’t quite enough to take down the Smoky Bears. “I don’t think we played to our capabilities today,” Sevier County coach Ken Wright …
Gatlinburg-Pittman uses second-half comeback to defeat Notre Dame and win Christmas Classic
BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – It looked as it Gatlinburg-Pittman was going to fade into the abyss after a three-point second quarter, which saw Notre Dame take a 7-point lead into intermission. The Highlanders would not go quietly into the night, however, as Gatlinburg-Pittman outscored the Fighting Irish 22-12 in the third quarter and 16-8 in the fourth quarter to win the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic 56-45. “The problem was that we couldn’t make a shot,” Gatlinburg-Pittman coach Rashid Moore said. “We were like 1-for-12 from three at halftime and it didn’t get much better in the third quarter. Once …