Demonte Dominates…….Bearden Super 16 Champs

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A performance for the ages.

For the second time in a two week span two of K-Town's top squads met on the hardwood. Bearden squeaked by Fulton the first time in overtime, this game would have more at stake with the championship of the Super 16 the prize for the winner.

Bearden behind a superb effort from junior big Demonte Simpson (Bearden) strolled past Fulton 70-62 and captured the hardware for the home team.

Simpson had the biggest game of his young career at the best time dropping 33 points and snaring 22 rebounds on his way to MVP honors.

It seemed as though every Fulton rally was counteracted by a tough Simpson bucket on a nice dish from an unselfish teammates or a crafty offensive board and putback.

The Bulldogs got 14 markers from all-tournament selection Gabriel Campbell (Bearden) and 12 from all-tourney member Blake Jenkins (Bearden). The Bulldog glue Nathan "Stat-Man" Parker (Bearden) lived up to his moniker despite only scoring 5 points he grabbed 9 boards, dished 2 assists and had two timely blocked shots.

Fulton got 15 from sophomore Jalen Steele (Fulton) and all-tourney selection Will Bryant (Fulton). Junior James Gallman (Fulton) finished with 11 and garnered all-tournament hardware as well.

 

Arby’s Classic…25 Years and Still Going

The 25th running of the Arby's Classic gets underway today in spacious Viking Hall on the campus of Tennessee High School.

This special anniversary features some very talented squads from all corners of the Earth. Representing Tennessee are local favorites Kingsport Dobyns Bennett, Greeneville, Sullivan East, Science Hill,Volunteer and the host school Tennessee High. Top players from these schools include:

Justin Sylvester-Dobyns Bennett

Corey Young-Tennessee High

Jordan Short-Greeneville

Isaac Snapp-Sullivan East

Keith Cradic-Volunteer

Tremaine Gash-Greenville

Dionte Grey-Science Hill

Also representing the Volunteer state will be Braircrest Christian who boast a roster full of talented college prospects including: Leslie McDonald, Gregg Wooten Johnny Williams and Elgin Lee.

From out of state the Arby's people have collected a very solid group of talented squads:

Archbishop Carroll (Washington D.C.)

Kris Joseph (Syracuse Commit)

Charlotte High (Punta Gorda, Fl.)

Columbia High (Decatur, Ga.)

Darrius Morrow (South Carolina Commit)

Dorsey High (Los Angeles, Ca.)

Gate City High (Gate City, Va.)

Iolani School (Honolulu, Hi.)

Northview High (Duluth, Ga.)

Ralph Sampson Jr. (Minnesota Commit)

Pine Castle Christian (Orlando, Fl.)

 

From out of the country:

Urspring School (Ulm , Germany)

Tabernacle Baptist (Freeport, Bahamas)

Father Henry Carr (Toronto, Canada)

 

The event will run tonight continue on Thursday and Friday with the championships held on Monday.

Bearden Super 16….A Knoxville Tradition

First of all Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope you had a joyous time with friends and family.

The holiday season brings Hoops to the masses and Knoxville is the site for one of the best events in East Tennessee.

The Super 16 event makes it's annual pilgrammage at Bearden High School and action begins on Thursday with four games.

4:30 Baylor vs. Morristown East

Game one features high scoring Zane Gibson (Baylor) and his friends from Chattanooga opening the action against first year coach Mike Wright and the Hurricanes from Morristown East. East is led by junior banger Walker Bullington.

6:00 Jefferson County vs. Loudon

Fresh off a huge win at Austin East, the Redskins of Loudon wish to continue their holiday success against the Patriots of Jefferson County. Loudon is led by a trio of seniors with point man Grant Gasper, athletic Lamar Colvin and deep shooting Drew Eller. The Pats will seek scoring from Tyler Stepp and Derrick Lindsey.

7:30 Bearden vs. Carter

The host school tackles one of Knoxville's upstarts in athletic Carter. Bearden features a veritible poutpourii of talent including Demonte Simspon, Blake Jenkins, Dustin Craig, Gabriel Campbell and Nathan "Stat-Man" Parker. Carter is led by a pair of talented guards in shooter Landry Stanton and playmaker G'Metrik Caldwell. Inside the Hornets feature big junior Joe Meady and talented freshman Lester Wilson.

9:00 Farragut vs. Fulton

Great climax to a solid evening of hoops has the AAA Admirals taking on the ever tough Fulton Flacons. Farragut gets a balanced inside/outside game featuring Riley Hunley, Kyle Binder and Jonathan Moore. Fulton will come with both barrels blazing. Jalen Steele, James Gallman and Dominique Minor will be called upon to score early and often. Key to Fulton;s success will be inside threat, senior Will Bryant.

Hunter Miller Heads Week #5 Scorers

It was one of those once in a lifetime games.

Hunter Miller (CPA) scored a career high 46 points leading CPA to the victory over Harpeth. Ironically Miller outscored the entire Harpeth team with his outburst.

Miller leads the scoring brigade for the abbreviated holiday schedule.

Adrian Williamson (Hume Fogg) 25pts vs. Ezell Harding

Chase Dunn (Livingston Academy) 30pts vs. Independence

Hunter Osborne (Marshall County) 31pts vs. Loretto

Shawn Kennedy (FRA) 27pts vs. Station Camp

Cameron Miller (Unicoi County) 30pts vs. Volunteer

Steven Bennett (David Crockett) 25pts vs. Morristown East

Tobias Murden (Middleton) 29pts vs. Moore County

Leslie McDonald (Briarcrest Christian) 25pts vs. Ridgeway

Keith Cradic (Volunteer) 38pts vs. Unicoi County

John Jenkins (Station Camp) 31pts vs. FRA

David Vaughn (Milan) 27pts vs. Peabody

Thomas Greer (West Carroll) 35pts vs. Dresden

Blake Burke (Huntingdon) 33pts vs. Bradford

Gary Pope (Ensworth) 26pts vs. Columbia

Michael Young (Franklin) 25pts vs. BGA

Chase Dunn (Livingston Academy) 30pts vs. Brentwood Academy

Michael Young (Riverdale) 25pts vs. Sycamore

Justin Tate (Cordova) 25pts vs. Fulton City (Ky.)

Justin Blake (Dyer County) 28pts vs. Franklin County

Tyson Wright (Dresden) 25pts vs. Huntingdon

Jacob Stallings (Brentwood Academy) 29pts vs. Haywood County

Zaccheus Mason (CPA) 25pts vs. Lipscomb

Kevin Holzer (Gatlinburg-Pittman) 41pts vs. out of state

Kenyan Torry (Mitchell) 28pts vs. Trezevant

Joe Jackson (White Station) 28pts vs. McClure North (Il.)

Carrin Nash (Upperman) 25pts vs. Clarkrange

David Woodard (East Robertson) 26pts vs. Clarksville Academy

Tyler Huston (Pleasant View) 29pts vs. FRC

Dan Schultz (Oliver Springs) 26pts vs. Jackson County

Dustin Murrell (Clinch) 30pts vs. Cosby

Chris Armstrong (Gibbs) 30pts vs. Knoxville Central

Josh Wilkerson (Memphis Catholic) 28pts vs. Millington

Justin Allen (Beech) 29pts vs. Oliver Springs

Jalen Steele (Fulton) 26pts vs. Bearden  

Steve Kerr (Millington) 26pts vs. Memphis Catholic

Dan Schultz (Oliver Springs) 28pts vs. Beech

Thomas Greer (West Carroll) 29pts vs. Greenfield

Wes Long (Summertown) 26pts vs. Lewis County

Grant Gasper (Loudon) 28pts vs. Austin East

Matt Perkins (Bradley Central) 29pts vs. Powell

Jacob Munsey (Union County) 35pts vs. Hancock County

Zane Gibson (Baylor) 26pts vs. Walker Valley

Caldwell Starnes (CBHS) 26pts vs. Memphis Catholic

Steve Kerr (Millington) 25pts vs. Fort Worth (Ga.)

Michael Campbell (Oakhaven) 28pts vs. Frayser

Justin Bentley (Hampton) 26pts vs. Johnson County

Tremaine Gash (Greeneville) 26pts vs. Elizabethton

Jeremy Fason (JCM) 25pts vs. Chester County

Cortez Wilder (Ripley) 31pts vs. Dyer County

 

 

Brown Leads Union City to Battle Championship

M.J. Brown (Union City) wants to make this a memorable senior campaign.

As much as the defending Mr. Basketball in Class A would like to add another trophy to his burgeoning case at home. M. J. Brown wants to lead Union City to the state title in March.

Let's take a look at what we call the first step.

Union City unleashed it's patented running game and dispatched of a fiesty Livingston Academy squad 72-61 to capture the second annual Battle for the State Classic at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

Tourney MVP M.J. Brown finished with 18 points leading the Golden Tornadoes. Lavan Mosley and Andre Coby (Union City) added 13 and 12 respectively.

Chase Dunn (Livingston Academy) after back to back 30 point efforts finished with 16 to lead his Wildcats. Clint West (Livingston Academy) added 12 in the defeat.

Joining Brown on the All-Tournament squad were:

Michael Young (Riverdale)

Bryce Cardin (Independence)

T.J. Smith (Livingston Academy)

Jacob Stallings (Brentwood Academy)

Pat Polk (Union City)

Travis Dempsey (Sycamore)

Nik Brooks (Union City)

Casey Cosliglio (Independence)

Chase Dunn (Livingston Academy)

 

In the third place game Independence ran away from Sycamore 68-49 behind 20 markers from All-Tourney selection Casey Consiglio. The Eagles also got 13 from Travis Edington and 10 from Blake Cardin. Shane Staggs led Sycamore with 14.

 

In the fifth place game Jacob Stallings stroked a buzzer beater and finished with a game high 20 points leading his Brentwood Academy Eagles to a hard fought 52-50 victory over a tough Riverdale squad. Rob Murphy (Brentwood Academy) had a nice game hitting 16 points. All-Tourney selection Michael Young (Riverdale) led the Warriors with 14.

White County Captures Mid-South Classic

Hoops fans you should have been there.

Two quality teams ready for a signature victory heading into the tough holiday season.

Tyler Greene (White County) and Josh Brown (White County) knocked down six consecutive foul shots in the waning seconds of the game to give White County a hard fought 75-71 victory over a very tough Dyer County squad.

The game was a see-saw battle that started with the Chochtaws looking the part of dominator. Jeremy Kimble (Dyer County) led an early Dyer County charge that saw the state tourney participant run out to a huge lead. The aforementioned Brown did not allow the party to last long as he dropped a trio of treys and helped his squad climb back into the game.

The back and forth tussle ensued with sophomore C.J. Crittenton (Dyer County) scoring on tough drives to the bucket and very personal defensive effort while White County senior Kyle Delaney (White County) and big junior post Aaron Puckett (White County) kept the Spartans alive as well.

With White County ahead by one at the half rising senior Justin Blake (Dyer County) scored six staright points to start the third quarter and allowed the Chochtaws to implement their patented press.

The game remained close throughout until Dyer County was forced to foul to stop the clock in the final minutes. As the Sparta warriors knocked down foul shots, Dyer County got some terrific scores including a dynamic drive from Crittenton and some clutch foul shooting from DeJuan Taylor.

The victory moves White County to 12-0 on the young season. Dyer County records it's first loss and drops to 13-1.

Puckett was high man for White County with 17 followed closely by Delaney with 15 and Brown/Greene with 14 each. Dyer County got 18 from Crittenton, 16 from Blake, 14 from Taylor and 10 from Kimble.

For his effort Josh Brown was selected as the MVP of the classic. Jopining him on the glitter squad were Justin Blake, DeJuan Taylor, Kyle Delaney and junior Stuart Mitchell  (White County).

Bearden Bulldogs Fulton in OT

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Who would have expected anything more.

Two of the top teams in all of East Tennessee doing battle to see where they stand.

From the look of things they both stand very tall.

Bearden overcame a furious Falcon rally and outlasted the AA power 82-75 in overtime.

The game was a back and forth affair with both teams sharing the lead at various points of the game. Fulton came out strong behind sophomore Jalen Steele (Fulton) and took the early first quarter lead but never got to far ahead as Bearden junior Gabriel Campbell (Bearden) hit a shot to bring the Bulldogs to within four and kept making key baskets in the first half when the Falcons appeared to be running away.

With the contest tied at the half ,the third quarter was a show with Bearden outscoring the Falcons 20-18 and taking the slight lead into the final stanza. Demonte Simpson (Bearden) scored on inside power moves and tough lay-in to keep the game close, while Fulton's Steele and James Gallman (Fulton) got their score on as well.

The fourth quarter proved no different as Bearden junior Nathan "Stat-Man" Parker lived up to his billing scoring buckets, grabbing boards and setting teammates up with nice dishes. Fulton kept the game in hand with timely buckets from Steele and Dominique Williams.

Blake Jenkins got the crowd stirrd with a wicked put back slam and Bearden appeared to have seized the momentum and were ready to stick the dagger in..but wait a couple of well timed steals by Shannon Hollingswoth and a couple of huge foul shots from Dominique Minor knotted things at 65.

Mr. Campbell was mmm good as he dropped a couple of charity tosses and gave Bearden the lead with 12.2 on the clock.

Showtime for J.S. Steele took the pass on the left wing and proceeded to the top of the key where he calmly launched and drained three of his game high 26 with a sic jumper and presto the game was headed into extra innings.

The overtime caused more of the same the Bearden depth causing problems for the vertically challenged Falcons. Jenkins had a huge block to squash a Fulton rally and Stat-Man finished things with a couple more buckets and another sweet dime to Campbell.

Steele led the Falcons with 26 and had plently of support from Williams, Gallman and an inspired effort from senior post Will Bryant. Bearden had balance once again with Simpson getting 17, Parker 16 along with 10 boards, 6 assists, a block and a steal. Campbell was tough with 19 large and classmate Dustin Craig came up big in the extra session as well.

 

Battle Of the State…..Holiday Highlights In the ‘ville

The holiday season is a wonderful time of year for spending precious moments with family and friends. The holiday season also brings some quality basketball tourney to the area.

The Battle of the State commences with action on Thursday December 20 and runs through the championship rounds on Saturday the 22nd. The spacious Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University will host the second year event.

Haywood County vs. Independence

Action starts with Haywood County battling Independence. The Tomcats are led by Ricky "The Truth" Taylor and Kenny Greer. These ballers will be priority one for the Eagles. Independence will be led by Travis Edington and Casey Consiglio.

Union City vs. Mt. Juliet

One of the top Class A squad in the entire state make a return trip to the Battle with a championship on their minds. M.J. Brown leads the U.C. along with a slew of helpful teammates including Tony Wilkins and Andre Coby. The Golden Bears feature talented Jonta Bowman and his running mate Antwaun Majors. Hope the bulbs in the Lipscomb scoreboards are bright and new as points will flow in this one.

 

Riverdale vs. Sycamore

The Warriors are slugging through a tough season but will not be a push over for the boys of Sycamore. Riverdale features tough guy Michael Young along with guard Joey Lee. The War Eagles are led by senior jumping jack Pierre Mitchell and should recieve scoring support from Travis Dempsey and Aaron Nicholson.

 

Livingston Academy vs. Brentwood Academy

Great finish to the evening with two tough squads taking the hardwood. Livingston is tough and hard nosed led by the incomperable Chase Dunn. The little big man runs the show and has inside help from big Deven Ramsey; as well as, outside help from a pair of Smith's Todd and T.J. The Eagles of B.A. feature one of the state's hottest scorers in Jacob Stallings. The sons of Vandy coach Kevin Stallings is headed to UNC to play baseball but is making the most of his final run with the bigger ball. He is complemented on the interior by a pair of horses in Rob Murphy and Thad McHaney.

Come to the Allen Arena and check out the action which begins again on Thursday. I will be there on Saturday for the finals. Good luck to everyone and Happy Holidays.

 

Larry Finch Classic: Memphis Holiday Treat

Those in the Bluff City looking foir a holiday event, look no further than the Larry Finch Classic. The tourney named after the Memphis Icon gets underway on Thursday and goes thru Saturday the 22nd.

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday December 20th

4:15 Westwood vs. Carver

5:30 Jackson Southside vs. Ridgeway

6:45 Liberty Tech vs. Manassas

 

Friday December 21st

11:20 Memphis Overton vs. Hamilton

2:00  Ridgeway vs. Melrose

5:00  Jackson Southside vs. Westwood

7:00  Memphis Central vs. Raleigh-Egypt

 

Saturday December 22nd

11:20 Memphis Overton

2:00  Manassas vs. Hamilton

4:40 Trezevant vs. Mitchell

8:00  Raleigh-Egypt vs. Liberty Tech

 

Top Players in the event:

Courtney Bell-Westwood

Louis Jones-Carver

Kendrick Wadley-Carver

Dee Williamson-Jackson Southside

Jason Jones-Ridgeway

Sampson Carter-Ridgeway

Charles Holt-Liberty Tech

Ricky Williams-Liberty Tech

Reginald Buckner-Manassas

Eric Atkins-Manassas

Nathan Garth-Hamilton

D'Nario Robertson-Hamilton

Adonis Thomas-Melrose

Chris Jones-Melrose

Tim Peete-Memphis Central

Tyler Stone-Memphis Central

Arnette Moultrie-Raleigh-Egypt

Gentry Hines-Raleigh Egypt

Erik Buggs-Mitchell

Jarvis Jones-Mitchell

 

 

 

Week #4 Scoring……Terrico White Is the King

Terrico White (Craigmont) was narrowly edged out this week for Player of the Week honors by Tim Ware (BTW) that however did not deter him from a fine week of hooping. White dropped 27 against Ridgeway and then followed up with 32 in a victory over White Station. His efforts were huge. Here is the rest of the scoring list.

Jason jones (Ridgeway) 25pts vs. Collierville

Nathan Garth (Hamilton) 32pts vs. Treadwell

Tremaine Gash (Greeneville) 26pts vs. Sullivan Central

Corey Ottinger (Chuckey Doak) 31pts vs. North Greene

Blake Burke (Huntingdon) 28pts vs. Riverside

Tony Smith (Treadwell) 34pts vs. Hamilton

DeShaun Kizer (Lexington) 26pts vs. Hardin County

Adrian Williamson (Hume Fogg) 26pts vs. Cheatham County

Chase Ellenburg (North Greene) 26pts vs. Chuckey Doak

Deontay Alexander (Glencliff) 28pts vs. MBA

Joe Jackson (White Station) 25pts vs. Craigmont

Cameron Pridmore (Grace Christian) 25pts vs. Cloudland

Jordan Rorex (Anderson County) 25pts vs. Scott County

Chris Armstrong (Gibbs) 31pts vs. Alcoa

Howie Meadows (Meigs County) 27pts vs. McMinn Central

Kevin Holzer (Gatlinburg Pittman) 25pts vs. Pigeon Forge

Quinton Young (Clinton) 25pts vs. Campbell County

Tyler Vitteote (Union County) 26pts vs. Cumberland Gap

Zaccheus Mason (CPA) 30pts vs. Mason County (Ky.)

Brandon Upchurch (Cllarkrange) 27pts vs. Stone Memorial

Ricky Taylor (Haywood County) 29pts vs. Hamilton

Kenny Greer (Haywood County) 28pts vs. Bolivar Central

Jammie Cheairs (Middleton) 31pts vs. McNairy

Dee Jackson (Hardin County) 25pts vs. Scotts Hill

Drew Kelly (Centennial) 26pts vs. Brentwood

Trent Williams (Lawrence County) 25pts vs. Coffee County

Ty Travaglini (PJPII) 25pts vs. Ensworth

John Jenkins (Station Camp) 30pts vs. Friendship Christian

Cory Stanton (Springfield) 31pts vs. Kenwood

Dallas Holmes (Coffee County) 30pts vs. Lawrence County

D.J. Key (Hickman County) 28pts vs. Loretto

Jacob Wright (Pickett County) 41pts vs. Clarkrange

Emmanuel Andrews (Shelbyville) 25pts vs. Franklin County

Leslie McDonald (Briarcrest Christian) 26pts vs. Bartlett

Bryant Reams 9Lausanne) 27pts vs. Elliston Baptist

Josh Henley (Hunter's Lane) 41pts vs. White's Creek

Kevin Doran (St. Benedict) 25pts vs. Davidson Academy

Quinche Dowdell (Oak Ridge) 27pts vs. Knoxville Central

Caleb Bunch (Wartburg Central) 30pts vs. Harriman

Dan Schultz (Oliver Springs) 32pts vs. Knoxville Webb

Taylor Brown (Alcoa) 30pts vs. Carter

Randy Sexton (Sunbright) 43pts vs. Oneida

Tyler Hood (Lenoir City) 29pts vs. Heritage

Jarvis Inman (Harriman) 26pts vs. Wartburg Central

Josh Wilkerson (Memphis Ctaholic) 33pts vs. Lausanne

Nick Ross (Red Bank) 27pts vs. Soddy Daisy

Steve Kerr (Millington) 26pts vs. Collierville

Michael Campbell (Oakhaven) 35pts vs. Kingsbury

Tim Ware (BTW) 28pts vs. Hamilton

Sherrod Baldwin (Collierville) 36pts vs. Houston

Elliot Williams (St. George's) 36pts vs. FACS

Joe Jackson (White Station) 26pts vs. Germantown

Zach Ricketts (St. Benedict) 27pts vs. CBHS

Logan Perkins (JCS) 29pts vs. Middleton

Logan Chappell (McNairy) 28pts vs. Jackson Southside

D'Alvin Brown (Covington) 33pts vs. USJ

Thomas Greer (West Carroll) 29pts vs. TCA

Ricky Taylor (Haywood County) 27pts vs. Fayette Ware

James Cuthbertson (Big Sandy) 38pts vs. Calrksburg

Breenan Torstrick (USJ) 27pts vs. Covington

Marcus Easley (Westview) 26pts vs. Dyersburg

Dee Jackson (Hardin County) 28pts vs. Adamsville

Bradley Elkins (Nashville Christian) 26pts vs. Cascade

Erin Harris (Clarksburg) 30pts vs. Big Sandy

Aaron Puckett (White County) 25pts vs. Cookeville

John Jenkins (Station Camp) 26pts vs. Gallatin

Adrian Williamson (HUme Fogg) 25pts vs. East Literature

Gary Pope (Ensworth) 30pts vs. Knoxville Webb

Dray Mercer (Perry County) 28pts vs. Mt. Pleasant

LaShaun Banks (Kenwood) 31pts vs. Clarksville Northeast

Judah Akers (Cookeville) 27pts vs. White County

Brandon Upchurch (Clarkrange) 26pts vs. Wartburg Central

Keith Cradic (Volunteer) 31pts vs. Sullivan South

Rayshawn Walker (Clarksville Northeast) 38pts vs. Kenwood