Bearden-Maryville

Bearden earns state tournament berth with hard-fought win over Maryville

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Bearden and Maryville both played up to the standard of state tournament teams all year, but when the Rebels were upset last Thursday night in the region championship by Sevier County, that changed everything. It sent Maryville, as the region runner-up, to Bearden on Monday night for a matchup that featured two teams with a combined five losses on the season — the type of game you usually see in Murfreesboro. “It was unfortunate that it ended up being that way and a lot of the crime committed there was the TSSAA aligning us like …

Boy's Top 10

Smoky Mountain Sports Boys Basketball Top 10 Rankings (2/1/26)

Bearden (25-1, 9-0 Class 4A District 4) Maryville (19-3, 3-0 Class 4A District 2) Alcoa (14-9, 7-0 Class 3A District 5) Fulton (15-7, 9-0 Class 3A District 3) Austin-East (13-10, 5-1 Class 3A District 3) Gatlinburg-Pittman (16-4, 5-0 Class 2A District 2) Heritage (17-6, 4-2 Class 3A District 5) Sevier County (11-6, 2-1 Class 4A District 2) Farragut (18-7, 8-2 Class 4A District 4) Seymour (14-7, 3-2 Class 3A District 3)

Alcoa vs Maryville

Alcoa defeats Maryville 28-21 for third win in four years

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – It was the 97th edition of the Battle of Pistol Creek. Like many of the previous editions, everyone in attendance knew what you could expect, a close game with several climactic, pivotal moments. Friday’s rendition of the bitter rivals proved to be just that. For the second consecutive year, Alcoa came away with a crucial stop in the red zone to hold on a late lead and come away with a close victory, winning 28-21. The Tornadoes seniors will go out 3-1 against Maryville, a team that it had only beaten once between 2011 and …

Rebels fall to Cookeville 70-60 in first state tournament since 2015

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Nobody expected Maryville to be here in November. No one, but themselves, that is. Maryville advanced to the state tournament in 2020, but with their game against Hillsboro being scheduled on March 18, they were unable to play due to the COVID-19 shutdown. Wednesday was the first time that the Rebels were able to actually play in the state tournament since 2015, when they fell to Blackman 65-45 in the Elite 8. The result was not much different nine years later, as the Rebels fell to a sharpshooting Cookeville team 70-60, in a game that …

Maryville defense forces 20 turnovers in 68-28 route of TKA

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – Maryville got off to a hot start early on Friday night and never looked back, outscoring The King’s Academy 18-5 in the first period, en route to a 40-point, 68-28 win. The Rebels forced 20 TKA turnovers, turning many into points, while only committing three turnovers in the contest. “When your defense has that much pressure it ignites your offense and being able to do that really got us going and got us feeling good about the game,” Maryville coach Wes Lambert said after the game. “When you feel good, you play good. I’m proud …