2 weeks Ago By By ANDREW SMITH [email protected]
BLUFF CITY — Sullivan East head coach Brandon Barnes had to wait a few games, but he found the win column for the first time in his career on Wednesday at the Food City Thanksgiving Classic. The Patriots escaped an upset bid by Mountain Mission (Va.) by winning 67-58.
Sullivan East (1-3) got out to a hot start, riding an early 9-3 run to take a 24-11 first quarter lead. The advantage grew to as much as 15 before settling to 10 at the halftime break. Mountain Mission (0-6) continued to battle, even though it was playing its second game of the day.
The Challengers whittled the deficit all the way down to two by the end of the third quarter. However, the tournament hosts were able to close out the win, getting a big boost from an 11-2 run to start the final eight minutes. The Challengers’ Yoseph Bursi led all scorers with 15 points, while East's highest point total came from Thomas Riddlehuber, who ended the night with 14.
Tennessee High rolls past HV Wednesday afternoon got started with a battle between the unbeaten Vikings and the winless Warriors. The early season trends continued as the Vikings won 88-47. Tennessee High (4-0) opened the first quarter on an extended 9-2 run to cruise to a 10-point lead after the first eight.
While Happy Valley closed the gap to six in the second, the Vikings closed the first half on a 15-2 run. The second half started the same way as the first ended, unfortunately for the Warriors (0-5). The Warriors allowed the Vikings to go on another 15-2 sprint, making the extended run 30-4.
Colin Brown led the scoring efforts for Tennessee High with 20, while HV was led by Ron Paul Parker’s 19-point effort. Hampton flips game around It was a tale of two halves between Hampton and Mountain Mission, as the Wildcats led at the break, 40-34. The Bulldogs (5-0) were able to limit the Wildcats fastbreak opportunities to outscore them in the second half, 43-10 en route to a 77-50 win.
“(Mountain Mission) came out and beat us down the floor,” Hampton head coach Ned Smith said. “They were releasing one and beating us down the floor. In the second half, we got back and kept the ball in front of us.
Played well in the second half.” On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs comeback was led by guard Tuff Robinson. He scored the first six points of the third quarter as the ‘Dogs went on an 18-0 run to start the frame.
The junior led Hampton with 22 points, with 20 of those coming in the third quarter. Mountain Mission had success in the early going by pushing the tempo with guard Alex Nyakemori, who scored 18 in the first half. However, the Bulldogs were able to keep Nyakemori from getting ahead of the pack, as he scored just two points in the second half.
Both Robinson and Nyakemori had team-high point totals, with Hampton getting double-digit efforts from Bryce Fagan (17), Chase Davenport (13) and Jayden Nave (10). Nave also recorded four blocks. West Ridge survives upset bid After struggling against Dobyns-Bennett on Tuesday night, the KACHEA Wildcats hung with West Ridge on Wednesday.
The Wolves (4-1) prevailed by a 65-55 final, due in large part to a 14-3 run to start the third quarter. Still, the Wildcats never went away, even after the run. “I can’t say enough about KACHEA,” West Ridge head coach John Dyer said.
“I thought they played great tonight. I really thought they played great.” KACHEA (1-3) looked to be in trouble in the early going, as they fell behind 16-7 after the first eight minutes.
However, the Wildcats kept chipping away, gaining momentum in the second after a Noah Coclough four-point play. They even briefly took the lead, but the Wolves ended the first half by scoring the last six to take a five-point lead into the break. Trey Frazier and Avery Horne led the scoring for West Ridge, as they each put up 20 points in the winning effort.
Grant Thompson topped the scoring column for KACHEA, putting up 21, including four 3-pointers. Dobyns-Bennett runs past Volunteer It was a slow start for the Indians to close Wednesday night in Bluff City, but the Tribe were able to turn up the pressure quickly. D-B only scored a dozen points in the first frame, but ended up threatening triple digits as they beat the Falcons, 92-56.
The Tribe (4-0) used timely 3-pointers to pull ahead, as they drained eight on the night. Also timely were a pair of runs to settle into a groove. In the second quarter, the Indians went on a 12-1 sprint to go up 13 heading into halftime.
They then opened the second half on a 10-2 run to put the game away. Volunteer (2-3) climbed back to within 15, but couldn’t withstand the momentum to climb any closer. Cam Hayworth led Dobyns-Bennett in scoring with 17 points, while the Falcons were led by a 19-point effort by Owen Tullock.
Volunteer’s Griffin Head also chipped in 18, while the Tribe had five players reach double figures. Up Next The Food City Thanksgiving Classic will resume on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
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