Signal Mountain freshman Terrence Russell made a strong bid for more playing time Thursday night.
Russell sparked a rally by scoring 11 straight points in the third period, the Eagles blitzed Sale Creek with an 18-2 fourth-quarter run and went on to beat the Panthers 77-49 in the Battle at the Creek (formerly the Don Burton Classic) at Sale Creek High School.
“Absolutely,” Signal Mountain coach Steve Redman said when asked if Russell’s performance would merit more court time. “His play tonight was an example of a kid wanting more playing time. He comes in and gets after it and you can’t keep a kid like that on the bench.”
It wasn’t a one-man show, though. Russell had plenty of help as the Eagles outscored the host Panthers 39-21 in the second half.
Kevin McCaffrey and Briston Reese each scored 18 points for Signal Mountain and Russell finished with 17.
Russell stole the spotlight, however, when his 11-point spree rallied the Eagles from a three-point deficit into a 47-43 lead.
“Coach told me to keep shooting,” Russell said. “I took shots and they went in. If I’ve got the shot, I’m going to take it and tonight will help my confidence a lot.”
McCaffrey hit a 3-pointer 25 seconds into the third period to give the Eagles a 36-28 lead, but the Panthers retaliated with 11 straight points and went ahead 39-36 – their first lead of the ballgame with 3:31 left in the quarter.
Winston Tullos, who paced Sale Creek with a game-high 24 points, tallied four in the 11-0 run that briefly gave the Panthers the slim advantage.
Russell, the smallest player on the floor, then came up big.
He connected on back-to-back 3s, knocked down 3 of 4 free throws and dropped in a floater in the lane in a 2-minute, 4-second spurt and the Eagles had a 47-43 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Sale Creek’s Dominic May made a free throw and bucket to slice the Eagles’ lead to 47-46.
Signal Mountain answered again, putting up nine straight points – four different players scored in the spree, including Russell – to shove the Panthers into a 56-46 hole.
Sale Creek’s Cameron Kirk hit 1 of 2 free throws. McCaffrey made two free throws and a field goal and Malone Howley added a layup off a Briston Reese assist and the Eagles’ lead was 62-47 with 4:38 left.
The Panthers’ Isaac Ellis was fouled and hit the first free throw. The second attempt was wiped off by a lane violation.
McCaffrey and Reese each hit a 3-pointer that capped a decisive 21-2 run and the Eagles cruised through the final 2 minutes and 53 seconds for the win.
McCaffrey scored 13 points in the second half and 10 came in the fourth period. He made three of the team’s seven 3s.
Reese got 13 of his points in the first half when the Eagles built a 33-28 lead.
Russell’s individual run accounted for 13 of Signal’s 14 points in the third period.
“I think I played well and I shot well,” he said. “This was one of my best games.”
Said Redman, “Honestly, we’re looking for guys to come in and play hard. Terrence makes some freshman mistakes, but he’s fearless. Some kids are gamers. He’s one of them. We’ve been inconsistent at times, so we’re looking for consistency from a lot of our guys.”
Tullos scored 16 of his points in the first half when the Panthers were battling to stay within reach of the Eagles. Luke Smith scored 10 points for Sale Creek.
Sale Creek made 17 of 35 free throws and Tullos was 8-for-11 from the stripe. The Eagles went 9 of 16 at the charity line – Russell and McCaffrey were each 3 of 4.
In other games, Signal Mountain’s girls beat Sale Creek 68-34 while Brainerd’s boys ripped Grace Baptist Academy 54-31 and the Brainerd girls edged Grace’s girls 45-38.
The round robin continues Friday with five more games and concludes on Saturday. (See schedule below)
Thursday’s Linescores
Boys Games
Brainerd 10 11 26 7 – 54
Grace Baptist 5 8 5 13 – 31
Brainerd (54) – Demba Sow 3, Vesta Melvin Jr., Keyshun Bradley 6, Kentrell Evans 8, Halfacre 3, Chapman 8, Wofford 2, Jessie Walker 16, Mynatt 2, Freeman 6.
Grace Baptist (31) – Hossler, Green, Billingsley 6, Tinsley 3, Morrison 5, Cravatt 2, Lewis 5, Wright, Thompson 4, Lindon 6.
3-Point Goals – Brainerd 3 (Sow 1, Halfacre 1, Evans 1), Grace Baptist 2 (Morrison 1, Lewis 1).
Signal Mountain 21 12 14 25 – 72
Sale Creek 14 14 15 6 – 49
Signal Mountain (72) – Briston Reese 18, Kelly 2, Terrance Russell 17, Howley 7, Sylvestro 4, Webb, Lisowski, Kevin McCaffrey 18, Rodden 6, Williams, Thelen, Menge, Stiles.
Sale Creek (49) – Holland 3, Gibson, McGhee, Neely, Luke Smith 10, Storey 1, May 5, Winston Tullis 24, Ellis, Lawrence, Kirk 3, Defore, Poland 3.
3-Point Goals – Signal Mountain 7 (McCaffrey 3, Russell 2, Reese 2), Sale Creek none.
Girls Games
Brainerd 10 8 9 18 – 45
Grace Baptist 10 12 2 14 – 38
Brainerd (45) – A. Robinson 3, Alexander 3, B. Robinson 5, Smith 6, Price 8, Jarrett 8, Bush 2, Steward 2, Coates, Parrish-Shadid 1, Torrence, Bell.
Grace Baptist (38) – Debolt 3, Abigail Smith 12, Gonzales 7, Ma. Long 3, Megan Long 11.
3-Point Goals – Brainerd 2 (A. Robinson 1, Price 1), Grace Baptist 3 (Debolt 1, Ma. Long 1, Me. Long 1).
Signal Mountain 20 15 14 19 – 68
Sale Creek 12 10 8 4 – 34
Signal Mountain (68) – Brooke Whitmire 13, Kendall Davis 10, Robinson 2, Muschel, Boals 6, Sitton 3, Maria Rackel 13, McGann 6, Johnson 2, Witherspoon 6, Gravett, Koontz 8.
Sale Creek (34) – Burton 4, Kidwell 8, Roberts, Carson, Jones, Hendrix, Lackeney, Davis, Coulter 2, Taylor Willis 20, Shephard, Dozier, Proffitt.
3-Point Goals – Signal Mountain 5 (Davis 2, Witherspoon 2, Whitmire 1), Sale Creek 1 (Willis 1).
Friday’s Schedule
1:30 – Signal Mountain vs. Brainerd, girls
3 – Signal Mountain vs. Brainerd, boys
4:30 – Grace Baptist vs. Bledsoe County, boys
6 – Grace Baptist vs. Sale Creek, girls
7:30 – Loretto vs. Sale Creek, boys
Saturday’s Schedule
1:30 – Grace Baptist vs. Signal Mountain, girls
3 – Grace Baptist vs. Signal Mountain, boys
4:30 – Bledsoe County vs. Loretto, boys
6 – Brainerd vs. Sale Creek, girls
7:30 – Brainerd vs. Sale Creek, boys
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)