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 …
West loses late lead, falls to Lipscomb Academy in Winterfest Shootout finals
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Knox West jumped out to an early lead and led most of the way during the Winterfest Shootout finals against Lipscomb Academy, but were unable to hold onto the lead late. The Rebels clung to a 63-62 lead with less than a minute left until Lipscomb’s Nick Duke nailed a three with 45 seconds remaining to give the Mustangs a 65-63 advantage. West was never able to score again in the waning moments, falling 68-63. “They’re a very talented bunch and we knew that going in,” West head coach Tommy Eggleston said after the game. …
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 …
Rebels fall to Cookeville 70-60 in first state tournament since 2015
BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Nobody expected Maryville to be here in November. No one, but themselves, that is. Maryville advanced to the state tournament in 2020, but with their game against Hillsboro being scheduled on March 18, they were unable to play due to the COVID-19 shutdown. Wednesday was the first time that the Rebels were able to actually play in the state tournament since 2015, when they fell to Blackman 65-45 in the Elite 8. The result was not much different nine years later, as the Rebels fell to a sharpshooting Cookeville team 70-60, in a game that …
Morristown East’s historic run ends at the hands of Rossview in the state quarterfinals
BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Both Rossview and Morristown East entered the game in unfamiliar territory, as the Hawks were playing in the school’s first Elite Eight in its 23-year history and the Hurricanes snapped a 45-year drought, advancing to state for the first time since 1979. The teams both traded punches early, but it was Rossview that took over in the second half, capitalizing on its opportunity, and picking up a 64-43 win in its first state tournament appearance. While Morristown East lost to a very talented Rossview team, the Hurricanes left the floor at the Murphy Center with …
Sevier County outlasts Patriots in defensive slugfest 45-35
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County came into Friday night’s game down two starters in Jayden Barton and Bryson Hedrick, but the Smoky Bears were able to score just enough and rely on solid defense to come away with a 45-35 region win over Jefferson County. “That was a hungry team over there,” Sevier County head coach Ken Wright said of Jefferson County. “They came out and they played hard and they gave us everything they had. My hat’s off to them. They scrapped hard. They played with a lot of pride tonight and I’m glad our guys were …
Lions lose heartbreaker as Berean Christian rallies from 13 down in the fourth
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy put together two impressive quarters on Thursday night, but unfortunately, one of those was not the fourth quarter. Both TKA and Berean Christian struggled to get much going offensively in the first quarter, but the Lions followed that by executing to near perfection in the second and third quarters, leading by as many as 16 points in the third quarter. The King’s Academy took a 13-point lead into the final frame, but failed to score a basket from the field, as Berean outscored the Lions 17-4 in the fourth to win 63-60, …
Cocke County overcomes slow start to defeat Seymour 88-75
BY BRIAN HAMILTON NEWPORT – Seymour opened the game with hot shooting and led most of the first half until Cocke County used a 13-0 run to take the lead for good later in the second quarter. The Fighting Cocks would stymie a late Seymour push to come away with an 88-75 win. “I thought, for the first time in a while, that we fought through some adversity,” Cocke County coach Casey Regan said after the game. “Credit Seymour, they came out and made a lot of shots early and I don’t think we defended particularly up to our standard, …