It hasn’t been the most memorable of basketball seasons for teams from East Ridge and Red Bank, but these two teams squared off at Red Bank’s Susan Ingram Thurman Gymnasium on Tuesday night more for bragging rights and seeding purposes for the upcoming District 6-AA tournament than anything else.
The Pioneers used a strong second half to secure the come-from-behind 68-54 as they improved to 8-12 overall and 3-6 in 6-AA. Red Bank falls to 4-13 overalland 2-6 in District 6-AA.
“I thought we won ugly tonight, but that’s alright when it’s a district game on the road,” said East Ridge coach Jon Goddard shortly after the final horn had sounded.
“It was kind of chaotic at times, but our press started working better in the second half. We’re normally a good free-throw shooting team, but we don’t always get many opportunities as we’re a perimeter-oriented team.
“We put them in the bonus situation early in the first half and they did the same for us in the second. We were able to cash in at the line, but this game was more for seeding purposes than anything. We still have two big district games at home with Red Bank and Howard, so we aren’t finished yet,” he added.
The Pioneers took a 7-5 lead early in the first quarter when Elijah Garmany sank the first of four 3s, but Red Bank used a pair of buckets by Jamel Davis wrapped around a free throw by Tory Sewell to regain the advantage at 10-7.
East Ridge then went on a 12-4 run for a 19-14 lead late in the quarter and the difference was 19-16 at the first break.
The Pioneers scored seven unanswered points late in the second quarter for a 33-25 lead, but the Lions finished the half on a 10-2 run for a 39-38 lead at the break, Sewell’s jumper from the baseline right before the horn giving his team the advantage.
Red Bank then scored seven of the first nine points in the third quarter for a 46-40 lead with 5:31 to play, but by the time Calvin Jackson hit the first of two free throws with 7:05 left in the fourth, East Ridge had scored 16 straight points and it never got much closer.
A nice drive along the baseline by Will Thomas allowed Red Bank to get within 56-51 with 5:43 to play, but Marquis Hinton scored back-to-back buckets and the Pioneers sank seven of their final eight free throws to preserve the win.
Red Bank coach Nick Fike could only shake his head when the final horn sounded.
“We had plenty of opportunities, but East Ridge took advantage of theirs and we didn’t,” Fike said later.
“East Ridge shoots the three-ball well and they did a good job of capitalizing on second-chance points. I thought we ran our offense well in the first half, but it’s all about being consistent and we were not tonight. Effort is never an issue with these guys, but we don’t always play smart,” he added.
Hinton finished with 21 points and Garmany 20 to lead East Ridge while Deaunta Johnson had 13.
Davis had 14, Sewell 13 and Thomas 11 for the Lions.
Red Bank had an unofficial 27-26 advantage on the boards as Davis grabbed 11 for the Lions. Johnson was the leader for East Ridge with seven.
East Ridge sank 76 percent of its free throws by making 19 of 25, including eight of 10 in the fourth quarter, while Red Bank made nine of 18 for 50 percent.
RED BANK GIRLS 68, EAST RIDGE 37: The Lady Pioneers had a 16-13 lead after the first quarter, but the rest of the game belonged to the Lionettes, including a 36-11 advantage in the second half alone.
Red Bank, improving to 11-8 overall and 8-1 in District 6-AA, got 15 points from Layla Babb. LaNaja Bowens and Jasmine Roberts were next with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Mya Adams had 12 for East Ridge while Kyanna Kendrick canned three 3s for nine points.
GIRLS SUMMARY
EAST RIDGE 16 10 7 4 -- 37
RED BANK 13 19 20 16 -- 68
EAST RIDGE (37) – Hill 4, Kendrick 9, Murphy 2, Jordan 7, Toney 3, Adams 12, Willbanks, Dozier, Moton, Harvey, Hubbard.
RED BANK (68) – Roberts 10, Babb 15, Romans 6, Brown 3, Claiborne 6, Evers 5, Kennebrew 6, Bowens 12, Ndiaye 1, Stewart 2, Pratt 2.
3-POINT GOALS: East Ridge 5 (Kendrick 3, Jordan, Toney); Red Bank 7 (Babb 3, Romans, Brown, Claiborne 2).
BOYS SUMMARY
EAST RIDGE 19 19 15 15 -- 68
RED BANK 16 23 7 8 -- 54
EAST RIDGE (68) – Johnson 13, Hinton 21, Mathis, Stewart, Simmons 4, Garmany 20, Martin 3, Eberhardt 7, Taylor.
RED BANK (54) – Doss, Sewell 13, Henderson 4, Shelby, Thomas 11, Davis 14, Brown 4, Jackson 7, Jones 1.
3-POINT GOALS: East Ridge 7 (Hinton 2, Garmany 4, Martin); Red Bank 5 (Sewell 2, Thomas 3).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)