BY BRIAN HAMILTON
PIGEON FORGE – In the last edition of the ‘The Battle of the Tunnel’, Ty Glasper scored 60 points in three quarters of play, as Gatlinburg-Pittman defeated Pigeon Forge 92-45 on December 5.
The junior point guard was more reserved on Tuesday night, going for almost half that total (28) in an 82-40 win over the Tigers, as the Highlanders started the game on a 24-0 run.
Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Ty Glasper (10) goes up for a layup during the Highlanders’ 82-40 win over Pigeon Forge. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“Since we had such a big letdown on Friday (66-61 loss to Oneida), we had to go back to the basics,” Gatlinburg-Pittman coach Rashid Moore said after the game. “We focused on defense and we focused on trying to string stops together — three in a row — and that translated. We still had some deficiencies early on, but we were able to keep them scoreless for the most part of that first quarter. I thought, offensively, we shared the ball well and got good looks. I thought we were more connected than we were at Oneida.”
Gatlinburg-Pittman jumped out to a fast start as Carlos Orr converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Highlanders a 9-0 lead.
Quinn Coykendall would grab a steal on the next Pigeon Forge possession and push it ahead to Orr for a two-handed dunk, making the score 11-0.
Ty Glasper would make a layup, followed by two free throws would stretch the Highlander lead to 15-0 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.
Glasper was fouled and made a pair of free throws to push the Gatlinburg-Pittman lead to 20-0 with 2:36 left in the period.
A floater by Glasper would give the Highlanders a commanding 24-0 lead with 1:46 left in the first quarter. A pair of free throws by Franklin Lanza would finally get Pigeon Forge on the board. Mikey McCarter would make the score 24-4 with 28 seconds left.
Gatlinburg-Pittman would lead 24-4 at the end of the first quarter, holding the Tigers without a field goal in the opening period.
Moore gave some insight into his message to the team before the game after the Oneida loss on Friday night.
“If you expect to be on the floor, you had better not be a weak link on defense or get outworked,” Moore said. “That’s what it’s going to be the rest of the year for us. For us to achieve our goals, there’s no more letdowns.”
Pigeon Forge’s Jonathan Cagle (10) has his shot blocked by Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Mason Harriss (5) and Wade Whaley (12). Photo by Brian Hamilton
The Highlanders would open the second quarter on a 6-0 run, capped by a Camden Richardson layup, making the score 30-4.
Pigeon Forge would make its first field goal of the game with 6:24 to go in the second quarter when Lanza hit a three-pointer to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 30-7.
A three by Orr would give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 35-7 lead with 4:15 remaining in the second quarter. Pigeon Forge would go on a 6-2 run, capped by a layup by Isaac Lopez to make the score 39-13 with 2:07 left in the first half.
Orr made a layup with 16 seconds left in the half to put Gatlinburg-Pittman ahead 44-15, but Lanza answered with a three right before the buzzer to send the Tigers to the half trailing 44-18.
A steal off an inbounds pass and layup by Orr would give the Highlanders a 49-19 lead early in the third quarter. Two consecutive Pigeon Forge baskets by Lopez and Lanza would pull the Tigers to within 49-23.
Seth Sutton grabbed a rebound and was fouled on a layup, converting the three-point play to give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 52-23 advantage.
Jaden Lawler nailed a three for Pigeon Forge, trimming the Tigers’ deficit to 52-26 with 4:29 left in the third quarter. Glasper hit a three from the corner to put the Highlanders in front 55-28 with 3:44 left.
Another long three by Glasper would put Gatlinburg-Pittman ahead 71-34 with 32 seconds remaining in the quarter, as the Highlanders led 73-34 after a Wade Whaley dunk at the third quarter buzzer.
The fourth quarter began with a running clock, as Gatlinburg-Pittman led by 39 after three.
Jonathan Cagle hit a triple midway through the fourth quarter to make the score 76-39, but freshman Roger Matute would answer with a three of his own to stretch the GP lead to 79-39.
Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Carlos Orr (2) goes up for a shot over Pigeon Forge defenders. Photo by Brian Hamilton
The Highlanders would go on to win 82-40 to sweep the season series against Pigeon Forge.
“I’m definitely learning a lot more about our younger guys, but I’ve got to figure out what our older guys are going to do,” Moore said after the blowout win. “We’re at a crossroads with some of our kids, so this is my last big effort before I start trimming (the rotation) down.”
Ty Glasper led all scorers with 28 points, while Carlos Orr finished with 24. Wade Whaley added 14 for Gatlinburg-Pittman.
Franklin Lanza was the only Pigeon Forge player in double figures scoring with 11. Isaac Lopez finished with seven points for the Tigers.
Gatlinburg-Pittman (17-3) will travel to Austin-East (11-6) on Friday, January 12 in a district showdown between two Top-10 Class 2A teams. Pigeon Forge (3-9) will host Oneida (11-6) in a district matchup.