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 …

Maliyah Glasper

Lady Highlanders overcome fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Northview Academy 62-56

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – The Lady Highlanders trailed by nine points at halftime and whittled away at that deficit all third quarter. Gatlinburg-Pittman trimmed that deficit to four after three quarters and finally took the lead and control of the game early in the fourth, to win 62-56. “I thought, other than the second quarter, I thought we played a pretty good game,” Gatlinburg-Pittman head coach Katie Moore said after the game. “I thought we kinda fell apart in the second quarter and got out of our system, started fouling some. Northview is a very good team, so you …

Barton scores 29 in second-half to fuel Highlanders’ win over Northview

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – The Highlanders used 29 second-half points from senior Jayden Barton to take down Northview Academy 82-68 on senior day in Gatlinburg. The win felt like retribution for a 65-59 loss in Kodak one week after Gatlinburg-Pittman got its football players back following the state championship game. “First and foremost, I’m thankful for Northview being willing to reschedule it,” Gatlinburg-Pittman head coach Rashid Moore said of the game’s rescheduling due to inclement weather. “They could have gotten out of it if they didn’t intentionally make it a point to play. It was one that we had …