East Hamilton's DaVae Hughley scored 21 points as the Hurricanes drubbed Stone Memorial, 76-45, on Thursday to capture their second straight Region 3-3A tournament championship. The Canes will host Riverdale in Monday's sectional at 7 p.m.
EVENSVILLE, Tenn. – East Hamilton crushed stone Thursday night.
The Hurricanes got Herculean efforts four starters, 16-5 and 15-4 runs to distance themselves from Stone Memorial and roared to their second straight Region 3-3A basketball tournament championship, 76-45, at Rhea County High School.
East Hamilton (25-7) got a MVP performance from DaVae Hughley, who scored a team-high 21 points that included eight straight in the first run that gave the Canes a 54-29 cushion opening the third quarter.
Hughley, who battered the Panthers from outside with four 3s and inside with power moves, rebounds and overall intimidation of any Stone Memorial player seeking the rim.
“I was really psyched for this game,” Hughley said. “We had high expectations coming in since we won it last year. The team played well, we shared the ball a lot, no one played selfishly and we came out with the win.”
In fact, Hughley and Drew Williams dominated the lane all night.
“It’s like lightning and thunder,” coach Zach Roddenberry said. “Those guys are so hard to defend because they can go inside or outside. The young guy (Williams, a sophomore) is so quick. DaVae is so strong and he’s our vocal leader. Anything Drew doesn’t get, DaVae will get.”
Providing serious support for Hughley was Justin Dozier with 16 points, Cam Montgomery had 14 and Williams finished with 13. The only Panther able to crack the smothering East Hamilton defense was Brett Newsome with a game-high 25 points, including 12 of 14 free throws.
The Hurricanes earned a spot in Monday’s sectional and will host Riverdale (25-7) at 7 p.m. Stone Memorial (18-13) faces a monumental test, traveling to Murfreesboro to take on unbeaten Blackman (31-0), which won the Region 4-3A title with a 48-37 win.
East Hamilton, which has won four straight games, can tie a school record for wins in a season (26) by beating Riverdale.
A year ago, the Canes knocked off Blackman, 72-68, in the sectionals to earn their first trip to the state tournament. East Hamilton lost in the quarterfinal round to eventual champion Memphis East, 76-56.
“This win is amazing,” Dozier said of the championship. “I’m glad we won and we’re looking forward to Monday and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Competing in Class 2A the school’s first four years, the Hurricanes never got past the first round of the district tournament. That pattern carried over for the next three years in Class 3A, the TSSAA’s largest classification.
Last season was magical.
The Canes finished second in the district tournament, won the region and sectional and played in their first state tournament. East Hamilton lost in the quarterfinals to Memphis East, the eventual state champion.
“This is huge for us,” Roddenberry said of the region championship. “Especially, with all that’s happened this year. A lot of people told us we didn’t have a chance and we told the guys that as long as they give it all they’ve got and work together good things can happen.”
The Canes went 18-3 under coach Rodney English, but he was suspended from coaching due to an incident with a player and that player’s father. Other allegations arose and eventually English resigned and was stripped of his teaching duties as well.
East Hamilton went 1-3 in their next four games, but won two straight to close the regular season. The Canes lost to Walker Valley in the district tournament semifinals and beat McMinn County for third place before beating White County, Cookeville and Stone Memorial to capture the region title.
“We didn’t want to travel to Murfreesboro for the sectional,” Roddenberry said. “The guys wanted to host another sectional and like last year crazy things can happen.”
Meeting for only the second time (the Canes beat Stone to open last year’s region tourney), the teams were tied at 7-7 in the first quarter. East Hamilton closed the quarter with a game-changing 16-5 run and had a 23-12 advantage.
The sizzling scoring spree ended with Merrell Schramm, Montgomery, Vandrele Wilson and Montgomery again draining 3-pointers.
The second quarter was pretty much even and East Hamilton had a 39-27 cushion at halftime.
Dozier and Stone’s Jack Eldridge swapped buckets to start the third period and East Hamilton unleashed their second assault on the rim that left the Panthers reeling.
Hughley hit three straight field goals.
Dozier, the District 5-3A Player of the Year who has returned to his midseason form after battling through the coaching change, dropped in two free throws.
Sam Randolph scored a layup and then hit 1 of 2 free throws to cap the 15-4 run.
Late in the period, Montgomery made an absolutely stunning acrobatic layup, throwing the ball up high off the glass before falling hard to the floor out of bounds. He missed the ensuing free throw. Wilson made one charity toss and East Hamilton, which was hit with two technical fouls in the game, had effectively slammed the door on the Panthers’ title hopes with a 24-point advantage.
“The third quarter was pivotal,” Hughley said. “In some games, we’ve come out lackadaisical and we knew we couldn’t do that in this game. They’re a good team and could come back. We went out there and put our foot on their throat.”
The Panthers had won five straight games, but it was obvious in Thursday’s title showdown, the Canes were a superior team. East Hamilton beat the top three teams in District 6-3A in the regional – Warren County, Cookeville and Stone Memorial.
“Now we have to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Dozier said. “We’re shooting the ball well, moving the ball well, playing great defense and playing great team ball.”
As a testament to solid shooting, East Hamilton made 11 3s in the game with Hughley and Montgomery leading the way with four each.
Roddenberry could only agree about his team's play.
“I felt like we played our best game against Cookeville in the semifinals, but this is the best we’ve played as a team. Our guys did a great job, pulled together and came out and just hammered this game.”
Boxscore
East Hamilton 23 16 20 17 – 76
Stone Memorial 12 15 8 10 – 45
East Hamilton (76) – Wilson 4, Drew Williams 13, Cam Montgomery 14, Paisley, DaVae Hughley 21, S. Randolph 3, Rogers, Justin Dozier 16, D. Randoph, Walker, Johnson, Hammett, Schramm 5, Crawford.
Stone Memorial (45) – Brett Newcome 25, Van Winkle, Cox, Boyd, Arnold, McCoy 4, Wyatt, Street, Headrick 8, Eldridge 5, Hecker, Day, Denton, Coudriet
3-Point Goals – East Hamilton 11 (Hughley 4, Montgomery 4, Wilson 1, Williams 1, Schramm 1), Stone Memorial 6 (Newcome 3, Headrick 2, Coudriet 1).
Region 3-3A All-Tournament Team
East Hamilton – DaVae Hughley (MVP), Justin Dozier, Cam Montgomery, Drew Williams
Stone Memorial – Brett Newcome, Justin Headrick, Jack Eldridge
Cookeville – Alex Garrett, Noah Hilliker
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)