The 2018-19 high school basketball season is barely a week old and most teams are still trying to figure out roles for each player and how team chemistry might eventually work out.
That was certainly the case for teams from Soddy Daisy and Red Bank Tuesday night at Soddy Daisy. Based on the final score, the visiting Lions did a better job of filling in the blanks than the Trojans and headed back home with a 69-54 victory.
The Red Bank girls were also victorious as they pulled away in the final quarter for a 45-30 victory.
The Lions ended their football season with a disappointing loss at Upperman Friday night, but those gridders who plan to also play basketball didn’t waste any time shifting gears and turning their attention to an indoor sport.
Red Bank coach Nick Fike will be glad when they get in basketball shape, but he’s just glad to have them on his bench, even if they’ve only had one day to practice.
“That was an ugly win, but I’ll always take an ugly win over a pretty loss,” he said after his team had improved to 2-1 with the non-district game.
“I liked the way we executed down the stretch, but we just have to knock some of the rust off these football players. I thought we sort of got away from our game plan in the first half, but we re-evaluated it at the break, made a few adjustments and things were better in the second half.
“But I like this group a lot and we have a chance to be special when we get things figured out,” Fike added.
Soddy Daisy coach Bill Eller saw plenty of things that need his attention, but a lack of effort is not one of them.
“Effort never has been a problem with this group, but we missed a few at the rim and we missed way too many free throws. We only have one starter back and we still have to work on chemistry, but I’m pleased with how we kept our composure and never panicked,” he said while relaxing in his office following the game.
“We’ve got to do a better job with defensive rebounding as we did too much standing around. I thought we did a nice job staying with our game plan, but we just didn’t finish. We still have a lot of work to do and I’m not real happy with the Sewell kid hitting seven 3s,” he concluded, referring to Tory Sewell, Red Bank’s leading scorer who finished with 30 points and those seven from beyond the arc.
The Lions scored seven of the first eight points before Soddy Daisy got a good shot. Back-to-back 3s from Tyan Massengale and Logan Ricketts got the Trojans within one at 12-11 with 1:52 left in the first before taking the lead for the first time on an inside move by Seth Coffelt.
A 3 by Michael Watkins at the buzzer allowed Red Bank to hold a 15-13 advantage when the first quarter ended.
Massengale knocked down two free throws to start the second stanza for a 15-15 tie, but Sewell followed with his second 3 of the game and Red Bank never trailed again.
Sewell’s two free throws with 3.9 seconds allowed Red Bank to take a 32-27 lead into the dressing room at intermission.
The Lions enjoyed a 17-8 run to start the third quarter for their biggest lead of the game at 49-35 following a 3 by Sewell with 2:21 showing and the difference was 54-44 with one quarter to play.
Ricketts scored back-to-back buckets midway through the fourth to get the Trojans within five at 59-54 with 3:44 to play, but Red Bank finished the game on a 10-0 run for the 15-point win.
Sewell’s 30 set the pace for both teams. Brandon Jones was also in double figures for Red Bank with 12.
Chris Branam and Ricketts both scored 15 points for Soddy Daisy while Massengale was next with nine.
Rebounding certainly played a crucial role in Red Bank’s success as the Lions had an unofficial 36-25 edge on the glass, including a 22-9 difference in the second half.
Jones had a dozen to lead Red Bank while Lakerrick Ellison snagged nine. Ricketts had eight and Massengale six for the Trojans.
RED BANK GIRLS 45, SODDY DAISY 30: The first and last quarters proved to be the downfall for the Lady Trojans as they got outscored 32-9 during those two stanzas.
Bailey Lee scored 15 points and Jasmine Roberts 13 to lead the Lionettes while Katie Hamby was tops for the Lady Trojans with 13.
GIRLS SUMMARY
RED BANK 17 2 11 15 -- 45
SODDY DAISY 5 10 11 4 -- 30
RED BANK (45) – Roberts 13, Pratt, Washington 7, Romans 4, Ware 2, Scott, Ledford, Bowens 4, Lee 15.
SODDY DAISY (30) – Kearney 2, Ingle, Lloyd, Hamby 13, Ledford 5, Davis 4, Lemacks 6, Branam.
3-POINT GOALS: Red Bank 1 (Roberts); Soddy Daisy 3 (Hamby 3).
BOYS SUMMARY
RED BANK 15 17 22 15 -- 69
SODDY DAISY 13 14 17 10 -- 54
RED BANK (69) – Ross, Sexton 3, Brown 4, Watkins 6, Sewell 30, Jackson 7, Jones 12, Ellison 7, Swanson.
SODDY DAISY (54) – Ackerman, Branam 15, Massengale 9, Reece, Culton 3, Coffelt 6, Ricketts 15, Reid, Cabe, Hart 6, Bedford.
3-POINT GOALS: Red Bank 9 (Sewell 7, Watkins 2); Soddy Daisy 5 (Branam 2, Massengale, Culton, Ricketts)
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)