BOYS BB: Sullivan East (TN) 65 Union 51 - FINAL
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Sullivan East (TN) 65, Union 51
BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – In terms of pleasing victories, Sullivan East High School’s 65-51 boys basketball triumph over the Union Bears on Friday night in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hoops Classic was pretty darn satisfying for senior guard Dustin Bartley.
“It honestly feels great,” Bartley said. “We wanted it really bad and it meant a lot for us to win. … I’m just proud of my teammates. We played as a team and that’s what we need to continue to do.”
East (8-4) closed the game on a 13-1 run and snapped a three-game losing streak in the process. The Patriots had watched an eight-point lead evaporate in the final 1:38 in a 57-55 loss to Sullivan Central on Thursday and avoided a repeat 24 hours later.
“It was a great bounceback win,” said Sullivan East coach John Dyer.
East fell behind 8-0 to start Friday’s game, but responded with an 11-0 run to grab the lead for good. The Patriots stretched their lead to 11 points late in the third quarter.
However, Union battled back and drew within 52-50 with 5:35 remaining after Wes Slagle sank two free throws. East didn’t panic and shut the door on an opponent this time around.
“We hung in there and we got three or four stops in a row, made a couple of shots and just enough free throws to get the victory,” Dyer said. “I was very proud of the team.”
Union missed its final six shots from the field.
“It looked like to me that we ran out of gas,” said Union coach Zack Moore. “They’re probably a little deeper than us right now and using a few more bodies. We just couldn’t get over that hump.”
It happened to be the season-opener for the Bears.
“I told Coach Dyer before the game, y’all have played 12 games and this is our first – I have no idea what to expect,” Moore said. “We saw some positives and you go back and see some negatives you need to work on and stuff. The good thing with my guys is I tell them we have time to get it right and get better at things. They are a good opponent to play because they try to speed you up, press you a lot and shoot a lot of 3s. They were hitting them tonight. That was probably the difference tonight, we couldn’t defend the 3-point line.”
Bartley buried five of East’s 11 shots from beyond the arc and finished with 25 points. Adam Davison (16 points) also scored in double figures, while high-energy guys Eric Hare and Trey Lowe played hounding defense that didn’t go unnoticed by their coach.
“I thought they were outstanding for us,” Dyer said. “I don’t think we win the game without them playing the way they played.”
Slagle finished with 25 points to lead Union, while freshman guard Andy Jones scored 14 points in his varsity debut. Slagle is working his way back from a knee injury that wiped out his junior season.
“He’s progressing and getting better each day,” Moore said. “He’s getting there. … For us to be any good at all, he has to score for us, lead us and that’s what he’s capable of doing. That’s what I remember him doing as a sophomore and that’s who he is. He needs to score 20, 25 points for us and he’s capable. I just want him to be efficient and I thought he was pretty efficient, in the second half especially.”
Union had posted wins over Sullivan East in the three previous meetings between the teams, but the Patriots finally got the best of the bunch from Big Stone Gap on Friday.
On this night, East owned crunch time.
“I know we have it inside of us, we just have to do it every night. … We’ve got guys with experience and that’s how we should play,” Dyer said. “I’m not going to say we’re going to win every night, but that’s how we should play – with the kind of toughness and togetherness we showed tonight.”
BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – In terms of pleasing victories, Sullivan East High School’s 65-51 boys basketball triumph over the Union Bears on Friday night in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hoops Classic was pretty darn satisfying for senior guard Dustin Bartley.
“It honestly feels great,” Bartley said. “We wanted it really bad and it meant a lot for us to win. … I’m just proud of my teammates. We played as a team and that’s what we need to continue to do.”
East (8-4) closed the game on a 13-1 run and snapped a three-game losing streak in the process. The Patriots had watched an eight-point lead evaporate in the final 1:38 in a 57-55 loss to Sullivan Central on Thursday and avoided a repeat 24 hours later.
“It was a great bounceback win,” said Sullivan East coach John Dyer.
East fell behind 8-0 to start Friday’s game, but responded with an 11-0 run to grab the lead for good. The Patriots stretched their lead to 11 points late in the third quarter.
However, Union battled back and drew within 52-50 with 5:35 remaining after Wes Slagle sank two free throws. East didn’t panic and shut the door on an opponent this time around.
“We hung in there and we got three or four stops in a row, made a couple of shots and just enough free throws to get the victory,” Dyer said. “I was very proud of the team.”
Union missed its final six shots from the field.
“It looked like to me that we ran out of gas,” said Union coach Zack Moore. “They’re probably a little deeper than us right now and using a few more bodies. We just couldn’t get over that hump.”
It happened to be the season-opener for the Bears.
“I told Coach Dyer before the game, y’all have played 12 games and this is our first – I have no idea what to expect,” Moore said. “We saw some positives and you go back and see some negatives you need to work on and stuff. The good thing with my guys is I tell them we have time to get it right and get better at things. They are a good opponent to play because they try to speed you up, press you a lot and shoot a lot of 3s. They were hitting them tonight. That was probably the difference tonight, we couldn’t defend the 3-point line.”
Bartley buried five of East’s 11 shots from beyond the arc and finished with 25 points. Adam Davison (16 points) also scored in double figures, while high-energy guys Eric Hare and Trey Lowe played hounding defense that didn’t go unnoticed by their coach.
“I thought they were outstanding for us,” Dyer said. “I don’t think we win the game without them playing the way they played.”
Slagle finished with 25 points to lead Union, while freshman guard Andy Jones scored 14 points in his varsity debut. Slagle is working his way back from a knee injury that wiped out his junior season.
“He’s progressing and getting better each day,” Moore said. “He’s getting there. … For us to be any good at all, he has to score for us, lead us and that’s what he’s capable of doing. That’s what I remember him doing as a sophomore and that’s who he is. He needs to score 20, 25 points for us and he’s capable. I just want him to be efficient and I thought he was pretty efficient, in the second half especially.”
Union had posted wins over Sullivan East in the three previous meetings between the teams, but the Patriots finally got the best of the bunch from Big Stone Gap on Friday.
On this night, East owned crunch time.
“I know we have it inside of us, we just have to do it every night. … We’ve got guys with experience and that’s how we should play,” Dyer said. “I’m not going to say we’re going to win every night, but that’s how we should play – with the kind of toughness and togetherness we showed tonight.”
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