Second-half run sends Tigerettes to 8-A semis

By Andy Reed

andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com

HARTSVILLE — With Watertown's season on the brink, the Tigerettes used a second-half blitz to take Red Boiling Springs out of the District 8-A tournament in first-round action Tuesday night at Trousdale County.

Red Boiling Springs led 26-20 in the third quarter when Watertown reeled off 13 straight points. Alicia Jennings' basket off the glass in the closing seconds of the third quarter put the Tigerettes in front 28-26.

The 13-0 spurt was part of a 28-6 run which put Watertown in command and bought the Tigerettes three more games, starting with Thursday's 6 p.m. semifinal against top-seeded Gordonsville.

"Jasmine High has had the flu several days, so we knew we were going into the game her time was going to be limited," Watertown coach Lane Price said after his Tigerettes improved to 14-15. "We were going to have to put Alicia at the point. So some new people were playing some new roles that they hadn't spent a lot of time playing this year. It took us kind of the first half to figure it out."

After longtime Red Boiling Springs coach Larry White switched to a matchup zone late in the first half, Price, who will be without injured freshman center Bobbi Staats [ACL] the rest of the season, elected to play four-out in the second half with Katie Dalton moved to the perimeter.

"That's when it opened up for us and we made a couple of three-point shots," Price said.

Leading the way was Kirstin Vantrease, Watertown's lone senior who sank four three-pointers on her way to 19 points.

"Really got us going early," Price said of Vantrease. "Really got us going in that third quarter. Had a huge steal against [Kalisha] Lynch and went down and laid it in for a three-point play.

"She's really carrying us right now. And with that, Alicia Jennings is stepping up and doing a lot of key things. When they were pressing us at the end of the game, she was getting the ball quick and getting the ball up the floor. She got Bay Cole a couple of easy layups to stretch that lead out."

Cole, a sophomore who remained in the post, threw in 13 points, sinking 7 of 10 free throws. Freshman Shelby Mofield sank a pair of threes as she and junior Jennings each added eight points while Dalton finished with four and Jenna Haun two.

Lynch hit a pair of threes in leading the Lady Bulldogs with 20 points as Red Boiling Springs ended a 9-22 season.

Watertown led for most of the first quarter, though Lynch hit a three from just inside the midcourt line as time expired to bring the Lady Bulldogs within 11-9. Mayson Burgener's putback 3:16 before halftime put Red Boiling Springs in front for the first time since 2-0 at 16-15.

RBS led 19-17 at halftime and used a 7-0 spurt to open the 26-20 advantage before the Tigerettes turned the game around.

"We're building for the future," said Price, who has one senior and one junior. "Right now, it's great tournament experience for us. We want to come out and represent the community well.

"These games are tough to come in here and play. If you don't win this game, it's not even like you're in the district tournament."

Thursday's winner will advance to next Monday's final, and perhaps more important, play at home in the first round of the Region 4-A tournament, whose semifinals and finals will be held at Watertown if an 8-A team can get there.

"My girls are so young, I don't think they grasp what was on the line because they weren't nervous," Price said. "Sometimes, young can be a gift for you.

"But they know what Thursday night means, especially with the region at Watertown and how much better we are at home. We got a lot to play for.

"Coming into this thing, I thought any of the five teams could win it. Gordonsville has got everybody back and they're the defending champs. Friendship's rolling right now. Trousdale is on an up. Any one of those three teams can win it and I feel like we're going to be in the mix."

Commanders survive RBS, face Watertown in district semifinals next

HARTSVILLE — Friendship Christian's defending state-champion boys struggled with winless Red Boiling Springs before putting the Bulldogs out of the District 8-A tournament 52-43 Tuesday night at Trousdale County.

The Commanders led 11-9 following the first quarter. Red Boiling Springs grabbed a 14-13 lead early in the second on a three-pointer by Skyler Holden, who paced the Bulldogs with 10 points off the bench.

But Allen Heaston had 10 of his 15 points in the first half despite being the target of a box-and-one defense to help Friendship to a 23-20 halftime edge. Sophomore forward Andrew Wood took over with all 15 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter which began with Red Boiling Springs within 32-29 as the Bulldogs hit one of their seven three-pointers to end the third.

Friendship advanced with an 8-13 record to face top-seed Watertown at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. The Commanders also bought three more games, including a first-round Region 4-A berth. Friday's winner will play the first region game at home before the scene shifts to Watertown for the semis and finals provided at least one 8-A team survives to that stage.

"Our guys know who's next and they know they're playing a team that's had a tough season," Friendship assistant coach Jason Miller said. "The intensity wasn't there.

"It came down to where we had to decide we weren't going to let the game get away from us."

Anthony Williams notched nine points for Friendship while Colton Gaines scored seven and Zac Anderson six.

With Heaston the only senior and no juniors currently on the roster, the Commanders have emerged from a tough early schedule to win five of their last seven games, with one of the hiccups being a 40-point loss at Watertown. But Friendship played the Purple Tigers much closer at the Bay Family Sportsplex earlier last month.

"We played teams early in the season nobody in our district would have beaten and probably few single-A teams in Tennessee would have beaten," Miller said. "We feel like we're putting it together."

Sharpe sinks FTs to lift Bears to sixth straight win

MT. JULIET — Thomas Sharpe sank two free throws with six seconds to play Monday night to lift Mt. Juliet's boys past visiting Riverdale 33-31 in both teams' regular-season finale.

The Golden Bears trailed 27-24 entering the fourth quarter before rallying to their sixth straight win, and eighth in their last nine games, to finish a 16-10 regular season.

Mt. Juliet is the No. 2 seed for the District 9-AAA tournament and will play host to Beech at 7 p.m. Friday with the winner facing the Gallatin-Wilson Central winner at Station Camp on Saturday in the semifinals.

Sharpe scored 10 points, sinking two of Mt. Juliet's three 3-pointers, to lead the Bears. Nolan Chowbay added eight points, James Womack six, John Mark Bell  four, Hunter Gilbert the other three and Reagan Johnson two.

Tomaz Gray tossed in 12 points to lead the Warriors, who led 10-6 following the first quarter and 21-20 at halftime.

Trailblazers close out McClain with 15-3 blitz

Western Kentucky's Trailblazers roared from behind to seal a 56-52 win from host McClain Christian on the Bulldogs' Senior Night at Immanuel Baptist Church on Monday night.

The Trailblazers, a homeschool team, closed the contest with a 15-3 run to drop the Bulldogs to 14-8 for the season.

"Tough loss," McClain coach Tony McLeod said. "Too many turnovers in the fourth quarter really cost us the game."

Brandon Fox totaled 25 points and 15 rebounds for McClain while Charlie Booher tossed in 12 points.

McClain will play host to Daniel 1 Academy on Thursday for homecoming at Immanuel.