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 …

Bearettes score 26 straight to finish game, spoil Hawk’s return

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – There were several storylines heading into this key district matchup for both teams. The major storyline being the return of senior Jefferson County star Madi Hawk. The Wofford signee went down with her second concussion of the season on December 29th at Carter and the Lady Patriots have been winless without her. “I heard that she’d been cleared, so I expected her to play,” Sevier County coach Jonathan Shultz said. “We let her get to the free throw line too much, but only allowed her to make two threes. Other than that, I felt we …

TKA - Berean Christian

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, …

The King's Academy-Berean Christian

Lady Lions blast Berean Christian 89-17

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy came back from an 11-day layoff due to winter weather and laid an egg at Grace Christian on Tuesday, as the Lady Lions lost their first district game in 64-61 in overtime. “We were a little salty about that and we had to get back out and get a win and get our motor going,” TKA head coach Dante Turnipseed said after the game. “I think we needed that, to be punched in the mouth by Grace (Christian) and to know that we’ve still got to play basketball. Nobody is scared of …

Cocke-Seymour

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, …