Bradley Central's Tucker Maroon looks for a teammate as Kregg Ware (23) defends in the Bears' 47-40 win over Cleveland for the District 5-AAA tournament title on Thursday.
photo by Dennis Norwood
After three days of weather delays, the District 5-AAA basketball tournament resumed Thursday night and Bradley Central captured boys and girls championships in impressive fashion.
Three Bradley players scored in double figures, Luke Rymer dropped in back-to-back clutch layups in the fourth quarter and the Bears knocked off bitter rival Cleveland, 47-40, for their second title in three years.
“That’s been our goal since day one,” Rymer said of the 2015 championship.
“It feels good to achieve that goal.”
Bradley’s Bearettes got back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Rhyne Howard – she finished with 30 points after getting 35 against Soddy-Daisy in the semifinals – and sophomore Emily Kate Brown to open a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and held on down the stretch for a 58-50 victory over rival Walker Valley.
The win secured the Bearettes' fifth consecutive tournament championship.
“We don’t name a district tournament MVP,” Bearettes coach Jason Reuter said, “but I’m naming Rhyne my MVP. Without a senior, without the district (regular season) MVP, without the district coach of the year, it is remarkable what these girls accomplished to win our fifth straight tournament title.”
The Bears and Bearettes were the tournament's top-seeded favorites.
All eight teams that played Thursday advance to the Region 3-AAA tournament that begins on Monday with girls quarterfinals and the boys hit the floor on Tuesday.
The boys and girls finalists from 5-AAA will host first-round games and the third- and fourth-place teams play at the Nos. 1 and 2 squads from District 6-AAA, which plays its third-place and championship games on Saturday, weather permitting.
Bradley boys 47, Cleveland 40: Sophomore Cole Copeland led the Bears (20-8) with 11 points while Daniel Clark and Tucker Maroon each scored 10 points.
It was Bradley’s second win in three meetings with the Blue Raiders (17-8) this season and Thursday’s seven-point margin of victory was the largest by either team.
The first half was a low-scoring affair, but the Blue Raiders managed a 19-18 lead at halftime.
Cleveland was up 21-18 early in the third period, but the Bears went on a 9-1 run to grab a 28-22 lead. Bradley McCurdy hit a 3-pointer and tipped in a Ty Morgan miss in that spurt.
The Blue Raiders’ T.J. Constant made a layup to open the fourth quarter, but Cleveland went almost five minutes without scoring again.
That opened the door for the Bears, who ran off eight straight points. Rymer, a senior role player who normally gets five or six minutes a game, scored on layups – he got assists from Morgan and Clark – that pushed the Bears’ lead to 40-30 with 3:01 remaining.
Clark’s assist was a blind pass past two Cleveland defenders that landed in Rymer’s hands for the easy bucket.
“That was spectacular how he got the ball to me,” Rymer said. “And I just laid it in. I think that got the team a little hyped.”
Said Daniel Clark, “People are always stepping up with big buckets. That’s how we play.”
Bears coach Chuck Clark pointed out that Rymer was part of another big play earlier in the game.
“He took the charge when Cantrel Ware picked up his fourth foul,” Clark said. “That was huge.”
Ware eventually fouled out of the game.
Cleveland’s Rod Dennard made four straight free throws and Cantrel Ware added one to pull the Blue Raiders to within 40-35 with 2:06 left.
Morgan and Maroon each made two free throws for a 45-35 advantage. Cleveland’s Jay Gibson drained a 3 from the right corner, but the Bears added two more free throws to put another championship in their trophy case.
“I think that’s expected at Bradley,” Daniel Clark said. “And it ain’t over. We’re going to try and keep this thing going.
Dennard was the only Blue Raider in double figures with 11 points.
Cleveland lost to Walker Valley in last year’s title game.
“Losing two straight years in the championship game is a tough pill to swallow,” Blue Raiders coach Jason McCowan said. “I thought we took some really good shots, but if you don’t make them you’re not going to win the game.
“We’ve still got some life though.”
Bradley Central girls 58, Walker Valley 50: The Bearettes (21-5) opened the game with a 13-0 run. Howard triggered it with a 3-pointer and put-back bucket. Bradley had a 21-8 advantage after one quarter.
If Bradley thought the game was over, they thought wrong.
Walker Valley wasn’t about to roll over and there is a bit of history on the side of the Lady Mustangs (20-7).
In the past five seasons, Bradley has a 55-4 record against district opponents when combining regular season and tournament games. Of those four losses, Walker Valley has three of them. Cleveland got the other one earlier this season.
The Bearettes had posted 52 straight wins against league foes dating to the 2010-11 season before the Lady Mustangs snapped the streak with a 45-38 win on Dec. 3, 2013. They beat the Bearettes twice early in the 2010-11 campaign.
Walker Valley went on a 13-2 run that closed its deficit to 23-21, thanks to two 3-pointers by CyCy White and one from Peyton Davis.
“We were making some mistakes and they were making some ungodly 3s,” said Reuter, who has won district tourney titles in each of his five seasons as head coach.
The Bearettes, who led 28-26 at halftime, went up 35-26 early in the third when Howard hit a 3, Emily Kate Brown made a layup and Howard added a field goal. Bradley later hit Walker Valley with a 9-2 run that extended the lead to 45-36 heading into the fourth period.
The Lady Mustangs’ Kathleen Alomar, who scored 18 points that included 12 of the team's 14 fourth-quarter points, made a layup and a 3 from the left corner and Bradley’s cushion was down to four points.
Howard and Emily Kate Brown connected on clutch 3-pointers to give the Bearettes a 51-41 lead with 4:55 left in the game.
“We felt good then,” Howard said, “but they cut into our lead and we had to keep pushing.”
When Alomar hit another 3, this one from the left wing, Walker Valley was within 53-50 with 36.9 seconds left.
Eighteen seconds later, Halle Hughes missed a free throw, but junior Julia Gaither snatched the rebound, went back up and was fouled. She made one of two tosses for a four-point lead.
“I wanted to make something happen for the team,” Gaither said. “I don’t think we anticipated them coming back on us like they did, but we fought hard and got the win.”
Said Reuter, “What a way to seal the game. Julia gives me every ounce she’s got. We found a way to win. Rhyne and Halle have been our Bernie and Ernie show all year long (he was referring to the once might combination of Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld at Tennessee). They have different styles and they play their hearts out.”
Howard also had nine rebounds, five on the defensive glass. Gaither also had nine boards and five on the defensive end, to go along with six points.
Included in Rhyne’s 30 points were five 3-pointers. She scored 10 points in the first and third quarters.
The Bearettes made 20-of-41 field goals (49 percent), including 7-of-16 3s. They won the rebounding battle 31-21 and hit 11-of-20 free throws.
White had 11 points for the Lady Mustangs, who shot 19-of-44 (43 percent) from the field and 7-of-18 behind the arc. They were 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
“Going down 51-41 made it tough on us,” Walker Valley coach Jr. Tucker said. “Our problem was we kept digging ourselves into a hole and couldn’t come back from the last one. I’m proud of the girls because they played hard. It’s been a good year and we still have a home game to play and that will be fun.”
Cleveland girls 42, Soddy-Daisy 14: The Lady Trojans (14-14) fell behind 20-0 and failed to hit a field goal in the first half, paving the way for Cleveland’s easy win for third place.
The Lady Blue Raiders (16-12) took full advantage of Soddy-Daisy’s poor shooting and cakewalked to a 29-5 halftime lead, stretched it to 42-7 after three quarters and played the fourth period with a TSSAA mercy rule running clock in effect.
Cleveland’s Shawnia Anderson scored a game-high 15 points, outscoring the entire Soddy-Daisy team. Hallea McClendon added 11 points.
Summer Ghaffari scored five points for Soddy-Daisy and had the team’s only 3-pointer that came in the final period. Alexis Trimiar finished with three points and scored the Lady Trojans’ first field goal with 6:37 left in the game.
Ooltewah boys 49, Soddy-Daisy 42: Kevin McCauley’s tip-in, his only points of the game, gave Ooltewah a 46-38 lead inside two minutes to play and the Owls got four free throws from Jarek Boyd to seal the victory for third place in the tournament.
The Owls (16-16) were led by Abel Anchanattu’s 12 points, all coming on four 3s in the first quarter. Kobe Jones added 11 points and Boyd tossed in 10.
Andy Wright scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and pulled down 13 of the Trojans' 36 rebounds, nine on the defensive end. Marshae Jeffries had 10 points for the Trojans (11-18), who came into the tournament as the No. 7 seed.
Wright trimmed Ooltewah's lead to 46-42 with 3:28 remaining, but the Trojans failed to score again. The Owls' Jarek Boyd hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 25 seconds to provide the final seven-point margin. Boyd was 6-of-8 from the stripe in the fourth quarter.
Summaries
Girls Championship
(2) Walker Valley 8 18 10 14 – 50
(1) Bradley Central 21 7 17 13 – 58
Walker Valley (50) – L. Lay, CyCy White 11, Spann 3, Griffith 4, C. Lay, Jones 2, Kathleen Alomar 18, Davis 8, Mowery 4.
Bradley Central (58) – Hughes 6, K. Brown 3, E.K. Brown 7, Rhyne Howard 30, Gaither 6, McRee 6.
3-Point Goals – Walker Valley 6 (White 2, Davis 2, Alomar 2), Bradley Central 7 (Howard 5, K. Brown 1, E.K. Brown 1).
Boys Championship
(2) Cleveland 12 7 9 12 – 40
(1) Bradley Central 12 6 14 15 – 47
Cleveland (40) – Rod Dennard 11, Jay Gibson 5, Constant 2, C. Ware 4, Brown, Vecchio 5, Hill 2, K. Ware 6, Jake Gibson 3, McRee 2.
Bradley Central (47) – Daniel Clark 10, Cole Copeland 11, Tucker Maroon 10, Pitner, Ware, McCurdy 6, Morgan 4, Parker, Rymer 6.
3-Point Goals – Cleveland 5 (K. Ware 2, Jake Gibson 1, Vecchio 1, Jay Gibson 1), Bradley Central 4 (Copeland 2, Maroon, Clark 1).
Girls Third Place
(4) Soddy-Daisy 2 3 2 7 – 14
(3) Cleveland 20 9 13 5 – 42
Soddy-Daisy (14) – Hale 2, Hopkins 4, Trimiar 3, Bryant, King, Ward, Phillips, Dent, Woodward, Ghaffari 5.
Cleveland (42) – Ware 6, Scoggins 6, Lee, Stamatiadis 2, Crump 1, Mastin, Shawnia Anderson 15, Walkup, Morman 4, Phillips, Hallea McClendon 11, Stutzman 2, Franklin.
3-Point Goals – Soddy-Daisy 1 (Ghaffari), Cleveland 2 (Ware 2).
Boys Third Place
(7) Soddy-Daisy 9 18 11 4 – 42
(4) Ooltewah 16 7 13 13 – 49
Soddy-Daisy (42) – Carter 6, Rogers 3, Flippo 1, Andy Wright 20, Floyd 2, Marshae Jeffries 10, Treadway.
Ooltewah (49) – Hayes 5, Jarek Boyd 10, Williams 8, Abel Anchanattu 12, Kendricks 1, Kobe Jones 11, Taylor, McCauley 2, McReynolds.
3-Point Goals – Soddy-Daisy 6 (Anchanattu 4, Williams 2), Ooltewah 3 (Wright 2, Rogers 1).
District 5-AAA All-Tournament Teams
Girls
Bradley Central – Rhyne Howard, Halle Hughes, Julia Gaither.
Walker Valley – CyCy White, Jaclyn Griffith, Kathleen Alomar.
Cleveland – Bre Ware, Jenna Scoggins.
Soddy-Daisy – Summer Ghaffari, Alexis Trimiar.
McMinn County – Rachel Simbeck.
Ooltewah – Kyra Reed.
East Hamilton – Unity Wood.
Boys
Bradley Central – Daniel Clark, Cole Copeland, Bradley McCurdy.
Cleveland – Cantrel Ware, Rod Dennard, Jonathan Vecchio.
Ooltewah – Kobe Jones, Jarek Boyd.
Soddy-Daisy – Andy Wright, Marshae Jeffries.
Walker Valley – Josh Jones.
East Hamilton – Tracy Thompson.
McMinn County – Tristan Spradling.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Freshman Rhyne Howard of Bradley Central, who scored 30 points against Walker Valley, goes up for a shot against Walker Valley. The Bearettes won 58-50 to capture their fifth straight District 5-AAA tourney championship.
photo by Dennis Norwood