The Soddy Daisy Trojans paid a visit to Ooltewah's Edward M. Foster Gymnasium Tuesday night with second place in District 5-AAA on the line.
By the time this game was over, there was no doubt which team had the upper hand.
The host Owls rolled to an 82-65 victory in a game that wasn't anywhere near that close.
Ooltewah coach Jesse Nayadley has watched his team get off to slow starts in each of their last three games, but they've always been fortunate enough to rebound for the win.
That first quarter was again the weak link in the game for the Owls, although they were up 16-12 when that first eight-minute period ended.
The second stanza was more to Nayadley's liking when his team had a 28-10 advantage as they bolted to a 44-22 lead at intermission.
The difference was 66-37 when the third period ended.
The biggest lead for the Owls came in the first minute of the fourth quarter when Tyler Whitman's short baseline jumper gave the hosts a 69-37 lead.
By that time, the Owls had emptied their bench and switched to a zone defense.
With C.T. Williams getting the hot hand and scoring 17 of his game-high 26 points in that final stanza, the Trojans whittled the final margin to 17 points.
"Ooltewah was very good tonight and at the same time, very gracious by switching to that zone in the fourth quarter," explained Soddy Daisy coach Kevin Templeton after the game ended.
"The final score does not indicate how much they dominated us. I think we started our Christmas break too early, but we just didn't play very well tonight.
"We still have a lot to work on, but I was very impressed with Ooltewah," Templeton added while heading toward the door.
Ooltewah's Nayadley was pleased for the most part with what he saw.
"We need a good start in the first quarter, but we've been struggling there these last three games. We went back and forth at the start and I felt good about the tempo. We didn't change anything and our lead expanded.
"We tried to work on our zone in the second half, but we aren't very pretty when we try to put the brakes on. We want to play a fast brand of basketball as that's what's effective for us.
"I kept telling our guys that we needed to maintain our intensity in the second half because the game was far from over at that point.
"Overall, I'm pleased with the energy and the way we came ready to play," Nayadley nodded.
Whitman scored 24 points to lead the Ooltewah attack while Delorius Hixson was also in double figures with 18.
Jervon Johnson and Wesley Richey were next with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Williams was tops for Soddy Daisy with 26 while Brandon McNeil and Austin Hamilton followed with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Ooltewah is now 7-1 overall and 3-1 in 5-AAA with a home game against Ringgold next Tuesday.
Soddy Daisy falls to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in 5-AAA. The Trojans don't play again until after the Christmas break.
Soddy Daisy girls 52, Ooltewah 33: Cassi Byrne was one of three Lady Trojans in double figures as she led the way in the win with 15 points.
McKenzie Bolton and Kelsey Nunley both finished with a dozen points apiece.
Kianna Delaney was the only Ooltewah player in double figures as she finished with 12 points.
GIRLS SUMMARY
Soddy Daisy 13 12 12 15 -- 52
Ooltewah 6 7 11 9 -- 33
SODDY DAISY (52) -- McKenzie Bolton 12, Harris, Orr, Holden 1, Cassi Byrne 15, Kelsey Nunley 12, Johnson 6, Wilson 3, C. Conner 3, S. Conner.
OOLTEWAH (33) -- Alvey 3, Bradley 4, cook, Kianna Delaney 12, Harris, Newson, Lawrence 6, Barrett 6, O'Shea 2, Smith.
3-POINT GOALS: Soddy Daisy 1 (Johnson); Ooltewah 1 (Alvey).
BOYS SUMMARY
Soddy Daisy 12 10 15 28 -- 65
Ooltewah 16 28 22 16 -- 82
SODDY DAISY (65) -- Landreth, C.T. Williams 26, Grimsley, Worthington 6, Willis, Brandon McNeil 14, Hutchins, Austin Hamilton 11, Floyd 2, Smith 6.
OOLTEWAH (82) -- Tyler Whitman 24, Wesley Richey 13, Jervon Johnson 14, Lloyd, Delorius Hixson 18, Creech 2, Stephens, Moton 8, Dupree, Bruell, Loy 3.
3-POINT GOALS: Soddy Daisy 7 (Williams 7); Ooltewah 10 (Whitman 2, Richey, Johnson 4, Hixson 2, Loy).
(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)