Ooltewah and East Hamilton exchanged third-quarter runs.
The Hurricanes’ spurt turned out to be a game-changer and they went on to beat the homestanding Owls, 73-62, Friday night in District 5-AAA basketball action.
The rivals battled to a 27-27 halftime tie, but the Owls (5-5, 1-2) scored the first 12 points of the third period and grabbed a 39-27 advantage.
East Hamilton (6-5, 1-1) answered by scoring 21 of the next 23 points, took a 48-41 lead into the fourth period and held on for the 11-point victory in Ed Foster Gymnasium.
“We played from behind the rest of the way,” Owls coach Tank Montgomery said.
“We just quit guarding and they were getting a lot of layups and free throws.”
Justin Dozier led the Hurricanes with 18 points. Jordan Walls had 16 points, Tank Sparks 12 and Davae Hughley 11.
Thomas Williams paced the Owls with 12 points while Jarek Boyd and Kevin McCauley each scored 10.
Scoring Summary
East Hamilton 16 11 21 25 – 73
Ooltewah 11 16 14 21 – 62
East Hamilton (73) – Thompson 6, Tanks Sparks 12, Justin Dozier 18, Jordan Walls 16, Wingard 6, Davae Hughley 11, Fagan 4.
Ooltewah (62) – Hayes 9, Jarek Boyd 10, Thomas Williams 12, Anchanattu 7, Jones 5, Freeman 7, Kevin McCauley 10, Turner 2.
3-Point Goals – East Hamilton 4 (Walls 3, Dozier 1), Ooltewah 5 (Williams 2, Hayes 1, Anchanattu 1, McCauley 1).
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)