Seymour vs Austin-East Boys

Seymour uses stifling defense to defeat Austin-East for first time in 21 years

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – Austin-East and Seymour played on Friday night for the first time since November 2009, but it felt like the two teams were heated district rivals who have played twice annually for the last 20 years. Austin-East came into the contest having won the last 11 against the Eagles, but none of that mattered to Seymour, since most members of this year’s team were just being conceived in 2009. None were alive the last time Seymour defeated Austin-East on February 22, 2005. That win was the only time the Eagles have defeated the Roadrunners this century, …

Seymour vs Austin-East Girls

Tidwell lifts Lady Eagles over Austin-East on layup with 3 seconds remaining

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – The game was tied at 56-56 with under 20 seconds to go with third-place in Class 3A District 3 hanging in the balance. That’s when Seymour’s Bailey Tidwell took a handoff from Kali Fisher and drove down the lane for a game-winning layup with three seconds remaining, giving the Lady Eagles a crucial 58-56 district win over Austin-East. “It was huge,” Seymour head coach Lindsey Koeneman said after the win. “We talked about how important this game was and how important our defensive effort was going to have to be. We were going to have …

TKA vs Grace Christian

Lady Lions suffer difficult loss to Grace Christian in district semis

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – The King’s Academy swept Grace Christian in both regular season meetings and throughout most of the game, it looked as if the Lady Lions were going to take a third game from the Lady Rams, but Grace Christian hit big shots in the fourth quarter, while TKA went cold for much of the period, falling in the district semifinals by a score of 54-51. “We just had some mental letdowns and they hit some big threes and we’ve got to respond,” TKA head coach Dante Turnipseed said after the game. “We say that basketball is …

Sevier County vs Cocke County

Bearettes mount fourth quarter rally to snap Cocke County win streak

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County defeated Maryville on Monday night to win Class 4A District 2 and followed that up on Tuesday night by mounting a furious fourth quarter rally to take down a Cocke County team that was ranked in the top-5 of Class 3A. The Bearettes trailed by three at the end of every quarter, except for the last one, coming away with a convincing 47-40 win. “They’re a really good team, so when you have the opportunity to make a play, you’ve got to make it, and in the fourth quarter, girls stepped up and …

Smoky Bears maul Fighting Cocks 74-39 on senior night

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County came into Tuesday night’s senior night looking to bounce back from a 57-37 district loss to Maryville on Monday night. Both teams battled throughout the first half, but the Smoky Bears outscored the Fighting Cocks 40-17 in the second half. Sevier County trailed 3-0 in the first minute, but would lead the rest of the way, bouncing back with a resounding 74-39 win. “We had chances last night, but I felt like we just didn’t play with the intensity that we needed to,” Sevier County head coach Ken Wright said about the Maryville …