FCA HOOPS CLASSIC: Sullivan East, Union boys prevail; Price leads Lebanon girls
Davison splashed in four 3-pointers in the game’s opening four minutes and five seconds in scoring East’s first 14 points and the Patriots followed his lead as they finished the game with 18 triples to take an 88-59 victory over John Battle on the second night of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hoops Classic.
“It was contagious,” Davison said. “Everybody just started shooting good.”
Davison scored the game’s first eight points and by the time his early explosion was over the Patriots owned a 14-5 advantage that never dipped lower than six points the rest of the way.
By the math midway through the first quarter, Davison was on pace to score roughly 112 points by the end of the contest.
“It kind of felt like it [was possible],” Davison said with a grin.
The standout East senior slowed down a bit and played little in the fourth quarter, but still finished with 22 points to lead four Patriots in double figures. Dylan Bartley added 14 points on the strength of four 3-pointers, while Dustin Bartley and Trey Lowe chipped in with 13 points apiece, combining for five treys.
“We did shoot it pretty well,” said East coach John Dyer, in the understatement of the night.
“I thought we made a lot of extra passes for good, open shots. I thought we were very unselfish. When we do that, when we make the extra pass, we’ve got a chance to be really good.”
East (9-4) entered the FCA event Friday on a three-game skid, but went 2-0 on the weekend to bring back the smiles.
“We hope [the slump] is out of the way – we plan on it being out of the way,” Dyer said.
Ten players in all scored for East – out of 11 who suited up – and seven hit at least one 3-pointer.
Reed Samuel nearly matched Davison’s quick start with a 13-point first quarter for Battle (5-2) and tied Davison for game-high honors with 22 points.
Isaac Deel added 14 points for the Trojans, but for the second night in a row Battle was unable to overcome a slow start.
“It was a good shooting night for them and we just have to take care of the basketball when we play teams like this,” said Battle coach Jon Odum, who was a player for the Trojans when the team last faced East in the 1996-97 season.
“You don’t want losses on your record at any time, but better competition gets you ready for later in the year.”
Dyer complimented the Battle guards on their tenacity attacking the hoop and Odum echoed the praise, but said the offensive highlights didn’t make up for being unable to stifle East on the other end of the floor.
“Our guys when they move and find each other and pass the ball we’re a pretty good team, but you can’t trade 3s for two,” Odum said.
Union 67, Sullivan South (TN) 62
Union opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run and extended it to a 16-1 spurt after a South free throw as the Bears prevailed in the first game of the day.
“It was a very nice win,” said Union coach Zack Moore. “We needed a win, even though it was our second game of the season. … We needed a win like that just because we’re trying as a team to still find our identity.”
Union (1-1) opened the season a night earlier on the first day of the FCA event with a competitive 65-51 setback to East, but the Bears missed their final six shots in allowing the Patriots to close out the contest on a 13-1 burst.
After its strong start to the fourth quarter Saturday gave Union a 56-42 advantage, South (10-4) got as close as two points in the final seconds, but the Bears made 13 of 15 free throws in the final period to have just enough to hold on for the win.
“We ran out of gas last night and I think our guys were hungry that it ain’t going to happen again,” Moore said. “We had a chance last night, but East was just better in the fourth quarter. Tonight, we were just not going to let it happen – whatever we had to do. If it was going to be a one-point game at the end, as long as we were ahead when the buzzer goes off [we were happy]. We survived.”
Working both in the post and from the outside, Union senior Wes Slagle scored 28 points as he continued a strong weekend in his return from a knee injury that ended his junior campaign.
“He’s never been good because of athleticism,” Moore said. “So what changes? He’s always been good because of his skill level. A bum knee does not change your skill level, right? That shouldn’t change the player he is.”
Fellow senior Noah Garrison added 16 points for Union, including a layup off a steal to start the Bears on their push to begin the fourth period. Freshman Andy Jones followed up his impressive varsity debut Friday night with another strong effort as he notched 13 points.
South got 16 points from Cole Layne with Ben Diamond (15 points) and Chase Bowery (14 points) close behind in the scoring column.
GIRLS
Lebanon 71, Sullivan East (TN) 59
Kayla Honaker scored the first five points of the game for East, but Lebanon responded with a 10-0 run and the Pioneers led the rest of the way in downing the Patriots.
Averie Price continued her magnificent start to the season for Lebanon (6-1), putting in 28 points with a mix of powerful drives and a trio of 3-pointers.
“She came in averaging over 20 [points per game] and she was shooting 57 percent from the field,” said Lebanon coach Rex Parker. “She probably didn’t hurt herself tonight.”
Kara Long added 18 points and Madison Varney had 10 for the Pioneers, who opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run after East (4-8) had pulled within 48-45 heading into the final period.
“We’d been playing pretty good defense and struggling offensively, but tonight Averie got us off to a good start and then Kara came out in the second half and got us some big buckets,” Parker said.
“We used to come down here and play in the [preseason] Hall of Fame games and they’d just wear us out. We took our lumps, but now we’ve got four seniors on the team and two juniors so we’ve got some experience and it’s paying off.”
East got 15 points from Hayley Grubb, but couldn’t get out of a skid that has now reached six games.
“We aren’t very good – and I’m saying that, not that I think our team is bad, but we’re not playing very good at all and we haven’t for about three weeks,” said East coach Allan Aubrey. “I still have a lot of faith in this team, but we’re playing as bad as we’ve played in a lot of years. We’ve got to find a way to guard people.
“I said that I thought we could win our league, and I still think we can win our league, but we have to find a way to guard. … It’s a group effort from the coaches on down, but we’ve just got to find a way to play defense. We’re in a rough spot right now.”
Mattie Gouge added 14 points and Honaker finished with a dozen for the Patriots, who had a 3-pointer in the air on the opening possession of the final period that could have tied the game but never got another chance to knot the score or take the lead down the stretch.
“I felt like if we took the lead we were going to win, but then we didn’t take the lead and we just gave them a couple easy baskets,” Aubrey said.
- Nate Hubbard | Bristol Herald Courier
- Dec 15, 2018
Davison splashed in four 3-pointers in the game’s opening four minutes and five seconds in scoring East’s first 14 points and the Patriots followed his lead as they finished the game with 18 triples to take an 88-59 victory over John Battle on the second night of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hoops Classic.
“It was contagious,” Davison said. “Everybody just started shooting good.”
Davison scored the game’s first eight points and by the time his early explosion was over the Patriots owned a 14-5 advantage that never dipped lower than six points the rest of the way.
By the math midway through the first quarter, Davison was on pace to score roughly 112 points by the end of the contest.
“It kind of felt like it [was possible],” Davison said with a grin.
The standout East senior slowed down a bit and played little in the fourth quarter, but still finished with 22 points to lead four Patriots in double figures. Dylan Bartley added 14 points on the strength of four 3-pointers, while Dustin Bartley and Trey Lowe chipped in with 13 points apiece, combining for five treys.
“We did shoot it pretty well,” said East coach John Dyer, in the understatement of the night.
“I thought we made a lot of extra passes for good, open shots. I thought we were very unselfish. When we do that, when we make the extra pass, we’ve got a chance to be really good.”
East (9-4) entered the FCA event Friday on a three-game skid, but went 2-0 on the weekend to bring back the smiles.
“We hope [the slump] is out of the way – we plan on it being out of the way,” Dyer said.
Ten players in all scored for East – out of 11 who suited up – and seven hit at least one 3-pointer.
Reed Samuel nearly matched Davison’s quick start with a 13-point first quarter for Battle (5-2) and tied Davison for game-high honors with 22 points.
Isaac Deel added 14 points for the Trojans, but for the second night in a row Battle was unable to overcome a slow start.
“It was a good shooting night for them and we just have to take care of the basketball when we play teams like this,” said Battle coach Jon Odum, who was a player for the Trojans when the team last faced East in the 1996-97 season.
“You don’t want losses on your record at any time, but better competition gets you ready for later in the year.”
Dyer complimented the Battle guards on their tenacity attacking the hoop and Odum echoed the praise, but said the offensive highlights didn’t make up for being unable to stifle East on the other end of the floor.
“Our guys when they move and find each other and pass the ball we’re a pretty good team, but you can’t trade 3s for two,” Odum said.
Union 67, Sullivan South (TN) 62
Union opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run and extended it to a 16-1 spurt after a South free throw as the Bears prevailed in the first game of the day.
“It was a very nice win,” said Union coach Zack Moore. “We needed a win, even though it was our second game of the season. … We needed a win like that just because we’re trying as a team to still find our identity.”
Union (1-1) opened the season a night earlier on the first day of the FCA event with a competitive 65-51 setback to East, but the Bears missed their final six shots in allowing the Patriots to close out the contest on a 13-1 burst.
After its strong start to the fourth quarter Saturday gave Union a 56-42 advantage, South (10-4) got as close as two points in the final seconds, but the Bears made 13 of 15 free throws in the final period to have just enough to hold on for the win.
“We ran out of gas last night and I think our guys were hungry that it ain’t going to happen again,” Moore said. “We had a chance last night, but East was just better in the fourth quarter. Tonight, we were just not going to let it happen – whatever we had to do. If it was going to be a one-point game at the end, as long as we were ahead when the buzzer goes off [we were happy]. We survived.”
Working both in the post and from the outside, Union senior Wes Slagle scored 28 points as he continued a strong weekend in his return from a knee injury that ended his junior campaign.
“He’s never been good because of athleticism,” Moore said. “So what changes? He’s always been good because of his skill level. A bum knee does not change your skill level, right? That shouldn’t change the player he is.”
Fellow senior Noah Garrison added 16 points for Union, including a layup off a steal to start the Bears on their push to begin the fourth period. Freshman Andy Jones followed up his impressive varsity debut Friday night with another strong effort as he notched 13 points.
South got 16 points from Cole Layne with Ben Diamond (15 points) and Chase Bowery (14 points) close behind in the scoring column.
GIRLS
Lebanon 71, Sullivan East (TN) 59
Kayla Honaker scored the first five points of the game for East, but Lebanon responded with a 10-0 run and the Pioneers led the rest of the way in downing the Patriots.
Averie Price continued her magnificent start to the season for Lebanon (6-1), putting in 28 points with a mix of powerful drives and a trio of 3-pointers.
“She came in averaging over 20 [points per game] and she was shooting 57 percent from the field,” said Lebanon coach Rex Parker. “She probably didn’t hurt herself tonight.”
Kara Long added 18 points and Madison Varney had 10 for the Pioneers, who opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run after East (4-8) had pulled within 48-45 heading into the final period.
“We’d been playing pretty good defense and struggling offensively, but tonight Averie got us off to a good start and then Kara came out in the second half and got us some big buckets,” Parker said.
“We used to come down here and play in the [preseason] Hall of Fame games and they’d just wear us out. We took our lumps, but now we’ve got four seniors on the team and two juniors so we’ve got some experience and it’s paying off.”
East got 15 points from Hayley Grubb, but couldn’t get out of a skid that has now reached six games.
“We aren’t very good – and I’m saying that, not that I think our team is bad, but we’re not playing very good at all and we haven’t for about three weeks,” said East coach Allan Aubrey. “I still have a lot of faith in this team, but we’re playing as bad as we’ve played in a lot of years. We’ve got to find a way to guard people.
“I said that I thought we could win our league, and I still think we can win our league, but we have to find a way to guard. … It’s a group effort from the coaches on down, but we’ve just got to find a way to play defense. We’re in a rough spot right now.”
Mattie Gouge added 14 points and Honaker finished with a dozen for the Patriots, who had a 3-pointer in the air on the opening possession of the final period that could have tied the game but never got another chance to knot the score or take the lead down the stretch.
“I felt like if we took the lead we were going to win, but then we didn’t take the lead and we just gave them a couple easy baskets,” Aubrey said.
