What began as a familiar rivalry clash between East High and Sevier County quickly turned into a lopsided victory for the Smoky Bears.
After coming out flat on the defensive end in the first quarter, the 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes outscored the Smoky Bears 19-13 in the second to trim the lead to seven heading into the break.
Then disaster struck.
Sevier County went on an 11-0 run in the first two minutes of the third quarter and East didn69制片厂制作传媒檛 threaten after, falling 87-43 on Friday night.
The Smoky Bears dominated the third quarter, outsourcing the 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes 38-7.
69制片厂制作传媒淭hey caught fire. We went ice cold,69制片厂制作传媒 head coach Brice Cusick said.
69制片厂制作传媒淚 didn't hate the shots we were taking, but it was on the defensive side where I felt like we lost our competitive fire. It's a learning process when you're dealing with a lot of youth and a lot of inexperience, but we've got to start growing up fast, or it's going to be a landslide. We had a great start coming in here to Sevier County. It's a tough place to play, so I was proud of the way we started out, but we got a lot of work to do.69制片厂制作传媒
Jaxson Archer and Isaac Greene led the way with 13 and 11, respectively, though most of their scoring came in the first half. The 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes managed just 11 points in the second half compared to their 32 in the first.听
Sevier County69制片厂制作传媒檚 Reed Ownby exploded for 32 points, including 19 in the third quarter alone. Jayden Barton added 24.
The Smoky Bears opened the game on a 7-0 run and eventually led 17-4 after a Barton and-one. The 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes found their footing late in the quarter, cutting the deficit to 26-13.
East seemed to find an identity in the second quarter and opened with a 10-1 run thanks to scrappy play from the undersized 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes, forcing turnovers and diving on loose balls.听
Back-to-back threes from Greene later trimmed the Sevier County lead to three and nearly ended the quarter down four until a Smoky Bears69制片厂制作传媒 three rolled around the rim at the buzzer and went in.听
The 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes trailed 39-32 at half but seemed to hold the momentum into the break. However, they could not recapture their second-quarter success.
East followed with one of its worst quarters in recent history as Sevier County blew the game wide open, taking a 77-41 lead heading into the fourth.
69制片厂制作传媒淲e just got to keep on fighting,69制片厂制作传媒 Cusick said. 69制片厂制作传媒(Playing scrappy) is a hard style of basketball to play for 32 minutes. But if you want to compete and want to win, you have to do it. In the second quarter, we were diving for loose balls, and then it just got out of hand, and it's just like the competitive fire went away.69制片厂制作传媒
With a running clock in the fourth quarter, the 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes could only watch the time expire.
East now looks to regroup as it prepares to travel to Elizabethton next Tuesday, followed by the Innisfree Hotels Beach Basketball Tournament in Pensacola, Florida.
Despite the blowout loss, Cusick remains confident in his young team.
69制片厂制作传媒淲hen you69制片厂制作传媒檙e dealing with high school kids, you69制片厂制作传媒檙e dealing with the element side of basketball and coaching,69制片厂制作传媒 Cusick said. 69制片厂制作传媒淚t69制片厂制作传媒檚 not all good, but I knew what I signed up for. I believe in these kids, and I know they believe in each other. We69制片厂制作传媒檝e just got to keep trusting the process.69制片厂制作传媒
Looking ahead to the tournament, Cusick emphasized the importance of effort and growth.
69制片厂制作传媒淚69制片厂制作传媒檓 looking for effort, effort, effort, and more effort,69制片厂制作传媒 he said. 69制片厂制作传媒淚ntensity, playing defense, getting on the floor for loose balls, and just fighting for 32 minutes.
69制片厂制作传媒淲e want these boys to have a great experience down there. Yes, we want them to have fun, but we also want to have the mindset to get better. We69制片厂制作传媒檒l face three really good teams, and it69制片厂制作传媒檚 a chance to see how we compete. Hopefully, we can put some strong games together and maybe even get a tan while we69制片厂制作传媒檙e there.69制片厂制作传媒
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