As the holiday tournaments continue to move ahead, Wednesday night I headed to the Maryville Christmas Invitational Tournament held at Maryville High School.
The game of the day featured two storied programs with two of the most highly decorated coaches in all of Tennessee High School basketball as Fulton tangled with Brainerd from Chattanooga.
Chris Reeves (Fulton) drove length of the floor after Brainerd took their first lead of the game and converted a driving lay-up lifting the Falcons to a 56-55 victory over the Panthers.
Brainerd fought back from a deep deficit and moved ahead after Tsombe High (Brainerd) made a steal and converted the bucket with only: 30 seconds remaining on the game clock.
Darius Filer (Fulton) led the Falcons with 17 points while newcomer Micah Goss (Fulton) pitched in with 15 markers.
Demetrius Kitchens (Brainerd) led the Panthers with 17. He was joined in the scoring column by Jabari Evans (Brainerd) who finished with 14 markers.
Leslie County (Ky.) 65
Anderson County 56
Ethan Hayes (Anderson County) scored 14 points as the Mavericks fell to Leslie County (Ky.) in the early game at the Maryville Christmas Invitational Tournament. Tanner Torres (Anderson County) and Ross Cannon (Anderson County) added 13 each in the loss.
Siegel 59
Bradley Central 53
Dominique Gooch (Siegel) converted two foul shots to seal the victory and finished with a team high 14 points as the Stars of Siegel slipped past Bradley Central 59-53.
Joining Gooch in the scoring column were Treyton Harris (Siegel), who finished with 11 and sophomore Charles Clark (Siegel) who added a cool 10 spot.
Bryce Copeland (Bradley Central) led the Bears with a game high 19 points and got scoring assistance from Miles Morgan (Bradley Central) who finished with 10 points in the tough loss.
Austin East 63
McMinn County 47
Andre Wilson (Austin East) notched 19 points as the Roadrunners ran past McMinn County 63-47.
Austin East led by a narrow 28-26 at the half but turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter and never looked back.
Aaron Allmon (Austin East) chipped in 12 in the impressive win.
Cedric Nevins (McMinn County) scored 13 to lead his squad.
Maryville 62
Rhea County 49
T.J. Kimble (Maryville) sparked a big Rebel comeback with a game high 24 points lifting the unbeaten red and black to a 62-49 victory in the final contest of the day at the Maryville Christmas Invitational Tournament.
Rhea County built a big lead right out of the gate behind some inspired play from rising junior Josh Coleman (Rhea County).
The Rebels outscored Rhea County 19-7 in the crucial third quarter and cruised to the win.
John Garrett (Maryville) and Clark McCall (Maryville) scored 11 and 10 respectively for the victorious Rebels.
Coleman led Rhea County with 16 while Preston Opperman (Rhea County) pitched in with a solid 13 in the loss.
