BY BRIAN HAMILTON KODAK – Tuesday night was Northview Academy coach Cory Harkleroad’s birthday and it did not disappoint, as seniors Jaylen Stolz and Ben Pickel gift wrapped 70 points, between the two of them, to propel the Cougars to an 88-78 win over Cocke County. Stolz finished with a career-high 36 points, while Pickel, who had 34, came up one point shy of his career-high of 35, which he set last week against Austin-East. “I know Ben and Jaylen both had in the 30s, but we were looking at our stats and a lot of our made baskets — …
Lady Lions pick up series sweep of Grace Christian after honoring Turnipseed’s 100th win
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy honored head coach Dante Turnipseed for winning his 100th game in a 63-26 win at Concord Christian on Tuesday, January 20 before Friday’s winter homecoming game. While Turnipseed was elated by the honor, the fifth-year Lady Lions coach knew he had to keep his focus on the task at hand, a home tilt against district foe Grace Christian. TKA defeated Grace 44-33 on the road January 6 and a win would all but wrap up at least a 2-seed in February’s district tournament. Turnipseed said after the game that the surprise celebration …
Heritage outscores South-Doyle 16-1 in fourth to win 57-29
BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – It’s only been a few weeks since Heritage lost Aleyah Smyth — a key contributor on the 2025 state title team — to an ACL injury that ended her high school career. The Mountaineers have rallied, despite losing their senior leader, having won 4-of-5 games since, heading into Friday’s district matchup at South-Doyle. “It was tough the first few games,” Heritage head coach Rick Howard said of losing his senior guard. “Tonight, they played great together tonight and the chemistry was there. We’re not ready to peak yet, but we’ve got to just keep getting …
Lady Cougars dominate fourth quarter to defeat Seymour 52-36
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – Northview Academy entered Thursday night’s contest with a record of 4-1 in Class 3A District 3 and looking to separate itself from the pack. Seymour entered the contest with a 3-1 district record, so despite Northview’s gaudy 16-2 overall record and Seymour’s underwhelming 7-12 record, there was still a lot at stake in this district matchup — second place in the district. It was a game of runs and ebbs and flows for three quarters, but in the end, Northview proved to be too much for the Seymour, outscoring the Lady Eagles 17-7 in the …
Fulton holds off Seymour in overtime to clinch district regular-season title
BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t your usual Seymour boy’s basketball team. The Eagles have already clinched their first winning season since the 2012-13 campaign and went toe-to-toe with Fulton at Jody Wright Arena back on December 16, falling 50-48. While many probably thought that was a fluke, the biggest question coming into Tuesday night’s contest was if Seymour could push the perennial basketball power to the brink for a second time. The Eagles answered those questions emphatically, battling back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to send the game to overtime at 51-51 on …





