Stewart shot lifts Wildcats to win

GLADEVILLE — With the score tied and the final seconds ticking away, Wilson Central point guard Kelten Stewart called his own number Tuesday night.
The sophomore attacked the basket and scored the running one-hander with 1.7 seconds left to lift Central to a 62-60 win over visiting Lebanon in the latest nail-biting installment of the neighboring rivals' series.
"Big shot," Wildcat coach Troy Bond said of Stewart's shot which gave him 12 points. "He went over the trees and made a play.
"He's the type of guy who can make plays."
With Lebanon playing end to end on both sides, the teams played uptempo all night with Central center Travis Adkins totaling 20 points in the post and his Lebanon counterpart, Herschal McCathern, tossing in 21 off the bench.
Central led most of the night until late. The Wildcats were up 48-39 on one of Stewart's three 3-pointers late in the third quarter.
But the Blue Devils went on a 12-3 run to catch the 'Cats at 51-51 on O'Keefe McCarver's three-point play with just over five minutes left to play. McCarver connected on a pair of free throws after Central's Daniel Palmer fouled out to lift Lebanon to its first lead 53-51 with 4:34 remaining.
The teams went back and forth the rest of the way as the Wildcats climbed to 3-1 and the Blue Devils dropped to 4-2.
"We talked about we want to have a lot of pride and a lot of poise in what we do," Bond said. "Our guys did a great job of showing that when we got down.
"My hat's off to Lebanon... Our guys just found a way to win."
Palmer and JaJuan Brooks each added eight points for Central while Kody Woodard and Arcavius McMurray scored seven apiece. Bond also praised the play of freshman Teraes Clemmons off the bench.
Xavier Smith came off Lebanon's bench to throw in three 3-pointers as he and Ken Walton each added 11 points. McCarver connected on all five of his free throws as he notched nine points. Alex Johnson finished with four points and Terrence Logue and Michael Edwards two apiece.
Central shot out to a 7-2 lead before Lebanon caught the Wildcats at 9-9 on McCathern's fastbreak layup. Smith's pullup jumper from the elbow tied the score 13-13 before Brooks bagged a free throw in the final seconds to put the hosts in front 14-13 at the first-quarter break.
The Wildcats led for the next two periods. Lebanon kept within striking distance until Central scored the final four points to go up 34-27 by halftime.
Central will travel to Nashville to take on Stratford on Thursday. Lebanon will go to Murfreesboro to take on Blackman in the Blue Devils' District 7-AAA opener Friday.

Kowalski sparks Westmoreland past Purple Tigers
WATERTOWN — Westmoreland point guard Teddy Kowalski overcame first-half foul trouble to spark the Eagles to a big second half Tuesday as Watertown fell 54-37 in the Purple Tigers' District 8-A opener.
Kowalski picked up three fouls while guarding Levi Tschaekofske in the first quarter and exited the game. But freshman E.J. Perry tossed in two three-pointers off the bench in the second.
Watertown, which trailed 9-6 following the first quarter, pulled into a 20-20 halftime tie. The Purple Tigers missed six free throws, including three front ends of one-and-ones, in the second period with Kowalski on the bench.
Kowalski returned with a vengeance in the second half, opening the third quarter with scores on four straight possessions as Westmoreland opened a 41-33 lead going into the fourth.
Meanwhile, Westmoreland had 13 free-throw attempts and Watertown only two in the second half. For the game, the Eagles were 14-of-21 from the line and 17-of-46 from the floor while the Purple Tigers were 8-of-15 and 13-of-50, respectively.
Patrick Jenkins added 11 points and Tyler Graves 10 for Westmoreland.
Aaron Fountain knocked down 19 points for the Purple Tigers while Tschaekofske finished with four in the first quarter. Ben Smith and Zach Neal each threw in three; Justin Breece, Victor Losa and Nick Lennox two apiece and Dalton Phillips a free throw as Watertown fell to 3-2.
The Tigers will travel to Hendersonville on Friday for a district duel at Merrol Hyde.

Saints march to big lead, hold off Vikings
MT. JULIET — In a turnaround from the team's first meeting two weeks ago, Mt. Juliet Christian jumped to a big lead Tuesday and held on to a 63-59 victory over Community.
The Vikings won 70-62 in a TSSAA Hall of Champions contest two weeks ago in Unionville.
Mt. Juliet Christian jumped to a 26-6 first-quarter lead before Community came back to within 35-25 by halftime and 50-40 through three periods.
Victor Underwood tossed in 23 points for the Saints while Bryce Middleton threw in 13 and Austin Wortman 12 with both tossing in two three-pointers apiece. Daniel Shedd sank three triples in the first half for his nine points while Zach Womble finished with five points and Blake Marsh a free throw as Mt. Juliet Christian pulled even at 2-2.
Justin Stallings totaled 23 points from the post for Community.
Mt. Juliet Christian will host Trousdale County for the Saints' District 8-A opener Thursday night.
Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 17 or by e-mail at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com.