BY BRIAN HAMILTON
GATLINBURG – Gatlinburg-Pittman picked up their 12th win in the last 13 games with a 73-54 drubbing of Seymour on Thursday night, as Jayden Barton went off for 40 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, along with three steals and three blocks. Seymour kept the game close and had an early lead, as the teams were tied at 16-16 after one quarter, but Barton scored 33 of his 40 in the final three quarters, as the Highlanders pulled away.
“(Barton) had 35 earlier in the year but that’s definitely been his most in a while,” Gatlinburg-Pittman head coach Rashid Moore said of his point-guard’s career night. “He’s been just right around anywhere from 15-25 with a bunch of other stats. We had another kid in the district (Chris Fudger from Pigeon Forge) score 40 last week with a buzzer-beater, so I’m sure Jayden was like ‘It’s time for me to go off.'”
Jayden Barton (22) goes up for two of his 40 points while Seymour’s Hayes Golden (11), Reid Russell (0), and Braden Holliman (24) defend. Photo by Brian Hamilton
The first scheduled matchup between the teams in December was canceled due to Gatlinburg-Pittman playing in the state football championship on the same day. It was the Highlanders 10th consecutive win over the Eagles, dating back to the 2020-21 season. However, Moore said this was one of the tougher wins he’s had against the Eagles.
“They’re clearly deeper than they have been,” said Moore. “(Hayes) Golden has been a problem. I’ve been coaching against him for four years now, so he’s good. We’ve been seeing him, but now they’re just a lot deeper and bigger than they normally are, so yeah, they’re a good team. With the public schools in this county, everybody is competitive. You’re going to have a hard time finding a terrible boy’s basketball team in the Sevier County area.”
Seymour jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before Gatlinburg-Pittman scored its first field goal on a layup by Craig Huskey, making the score 5-3 with 6:12 left in the first quarter. Huskey was fouled on a drive to the basket and made both free throws to tie the game at 5-5 with just under six minutes remaining.
A three-pointer by Jayden Barton would give Gatlinburg-Pittman an 8-5 lead, followed by a Quinn Coykendall layup to make the score 10-5, capping a 9-0 Highlander run.
Seymour would finally break the drought when Noah Bohanan made a basket and converted the and-one to pull the Eagles to within 10-8 with 3:15 left in the first quarter.
A Seymour three-pointer would put the Eagles back in front 11-10, but a layup by Barton would give the lead back to Gatlinburg-Pittman on the next possession.
Gatlinburg-Pittman trailed 16-14 when Barton drove to the basket and found Malachi Palmer for a layup to tie the game at 16-16 after one quarter.
Inaki Palomares hit a three-pointer to open the second quarter, as the Highlanders opened the quarter with a 6-1 run to take a 22-17 lead. Brayden Holliman nailed a three to pull Seymour to within 22-20 with just over six minutes left in the quarter.
Gatlinburg-Pittman would take a 30-20 lead midway through the second quarter on a pair of and-one baskets by Jayden Barton. Hayes Golden hit a three to make the score 30-23, but a pair of baskets by Barton and Palmer stretched the lead to 34-23.
Seymour’s Hayes Golden (11) goes up for a basket between three Highlander defenders. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Golden converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 36-28, but Barton made two straight baskets to close the half on a 6-2 Highlander run, as Gatlinburg-Pittman led 40-28 at the intermission.
Gatlinburg-Pittman opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run, capped with a Barton three to make the score 46-28, but Seymour would answer with a 7-0 run of their own, trimming the Highlander lead to 46-35 with 3:10 remaining in the quarter.
A pair of threes by Golden and Reid Russell would cut the Eagles’ deficit to 50-40 after three quarters.
Barton opened the fourth quarter with a layup to make the score 52-40. Huskey then followed that with a pair of layups to stretch the lead to 56-41, as the Highlanders opened the quarter with a 6-1 run.
A steal and fast break dunk by Barton made the score 60-45 midway through the quarter. Gatlinburg-Pittman would outscore Seymour 23-14 in the fourth quarter to win 73-54.
The win wraps up a week where Gatlinburg-Pittman defeated two county rivals in Seymour and Pigeon Forge, who is also a district foe.
“That was a big one and it was an emotional rollercoaster too,” Moore said about the wins. “I don’t think it was very smart of me to schedule those two games back-to-back. I probably won’t be doing that again, but I am glad the guys were able to get it done, because that’s hard to do, because both of those teams are good teams. I’m just glad we got out of there with two wins.”
Barton finished with a career-high 40 points to lead all scorers, while Craig Huskey finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Inaki Palomares added seven points for the Highlanders.
Hayes Golden led Seymour with 20 points, while Jack McAbee added nine.
Gatlinburg-Pittman (16-4, 5-0 Class 2A District 2) will travel to Eagleton (7-13, 1-3 District 2) on Tuesday, February 3.
The Eagles (14-7, 3-2 Class 3A District 3) will try to get back on track after losing three of their last four when Cocke County (8-18, 1-8 District 3) visits Seymour on Tuesday.