Riverdale Edges East Hamilton, 55-53, In East-West Classic Thriller

In terrific hardwood battle pitting host East Hamilton and Riverdale, a pair of once-beaten squads, the Warriors used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to build an 11-point lead and then hung on for a well-played 55-53 victory Friday morning in the second East-West Classic before a huge crowd dominated by the Hurricanes’ student-body.

The East Hamilton girls, back to full strength after disciplinary action knocked three players out of the starting lineup last week, were impressive in a 68-45 thumping of Bolton in the opener on a seven-game card.

The Arlington girls routed Oak Ridge, 65-50; Oak Ridge’s boys edged Bolton, 79-77, in three overtimes and Bradley Central’s Bearettes easily routed Southwind, 53-26.

Bradley Central’s boys routed Rhea County, 63-37, and the undefeated Houston girls (9-0) whipped the Rhea girls, 68-56, behind a 32-point effort on 9 of 17 shooting by Jayla Hemingway – she made 5 of 10 3-point shots – to cap the day’s action.

The Classic continues Saturday with seven more games with the action shifting to Bradley Central High School in Cleveland. (See the schedule below).

The Classic continues Saturday with seven more games with the action shifting to Bradley Central High School in Cleveland. (See schedule below).

Riverdale boys 55, East Hamilton 53: It was an entertaining battle from the get-go between the Warriors (7-1) and Hurricanes (7-2). The game was tied at halftime 31-all and both teams came out hot after the break.

Canes senior Jamaal Walker dropped a layup off a Riverdale turnover to start the period. The Warriors’ Davon Perry, who scored a team-high 16 points, drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing. East Hamilton’s Morrell Schramm drove the baseline for a dunk over – maybe more like around – Riverdale 7-foot post Braydon Simon and Walker came back with a layup and the Canes led 37-34.

East Hamilton consistently was testing the Warriors’ excellent length on the floor, with 6-7, 6-5 and 6-4 players in the lineup at various times, along with the 7-footer.

“Riverdale was certainly different from the six or seven teams we’ve played so far,” said the 6-5 Walker, who paced the Canes with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting. “That was the biggest team by far that we’ve seen. We had to work and figure how to handle that.”

East Hamilton had more problems after taking the three-point lead. Riverdale went on the 14-0 run – five different Warriors scored and four knocked down 3s – and went ahead, 48-37. C.J. Johnson started the spree with a 3, Dustin Whittington hit a layup and Maliak McAllister, Perry and Kai Crawford each connected on 3s that opened the 11-point advantage. McAllister finished with 11 points that included three 3-pointers.

“We’re very long,” Riverdale coach Barry Messer said. “That can make it tough on teams around the rim, and that’s beneficial for us. I’m really proud of my team for the way they persevered in a tough environment. To have about a thousand students in here was a big plus for East Hamilton.

“We had four or five tapes of them and knew (Walker) is a great player with a chance to be really outstanding. He and (Morrell Schramm) are freaking good athletes.”

East Hamilton outscored the Warriors 8-2 over the next 90-plus seconds and pulled to within 50-47 – Darwin Randolph made two free throws, Walker made back-to-back field goals and Cameron Montgomery added two charity tosses. Montgomery, who had nine points, and Schramm (10 points, six rebounds) each fouled out later in the game.

“We came up on the short end, but I thought overall we played a really good game against a tough team,” East Hamilton coach Frank Jones said. “We didn’t melt and  fought back when Riverdale went up by 11 and continued to fight the rest of the game. Size-wise, we couldn’t match them, so we tried to use our quickness to try and get the game into a faster pace.”

Perry hit a 3 from the left wing and restored the Warriors’ eight-point margin at 55-47 with 4:14 left. That was Riverdale’s final points.

Montgomery drained a 3 out of the left corner at the 3:18 mark and Schramm drove for a layup and made 1 of 2 free throws with 38.8 seconds remaining that pulled the Canes’ to within two points.

In a mad scramble at mid-court, Riverdale was whistled for a turnover with 18.5 on the clock. Walker snagged a high cross-court pass in the right corner and launched a 3, but it was off the mark. McAllister was fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Riverdale got the loose ball and time expired.”

“We knew we could compete with Riverdale,” said Walker, who “mixed things up” by wearing one black shoe and one white. “We never go into a game thinking we can’t compete with anybody.”

Walker got the partisan crowd into the game when he hit a high-arcing 3-point bomb over 6-7 Elijah Cobb from the right wing midway through the first period.

The senior, who looks much younger, later said he is contemplating going to a prep school next year and be reclassified as a member of the 2020 class. “I’m young for my class, so that’s something I’m thinking about. I think it would help me.”

East Hamilton girls 68, Bolton: The Lady Canes, who played short-handed in a 63-49 loss to Cleveland in an early season District 5-3A game Tuesday, looked like the team coach Hunter Gremore expected to have this season against the Lady Wildcats.

“I’m glad our starters are back,” said Madison Hayes, who scored 19 of her 21 points in the first half when the Lady Canes raced to a 41-19 advantage. “We wanted to win this game and came out aggressive and did that the whole game. That’s how we won.”

East Hamilton (6-2) shots and was playing catch-up the rest of the way.

Hayes, who had 17 rebounds in a district win against Soddy-Daisy on Friday, added 12 more points in the second period and the Lady Canes enjoyed the 22-point lead at halftime.

“It was unbelievable how we played, especially in the first half,” East Hamilton coach Hunter Gremore said. “It gave us the depth to rotate more players and we had four people play at least 16 minutes and three more with at least 10 minutes. This was a good win and our crowd really helped us.

“Madison had a terrific game with 21 points and 17 rebounds. I don’t know if that’s a personal record but it has to be close. We had way too many turnovers (18), out-rebounded them 44-39 and shot pretty good (44.8 percent). The first half was really good; we’ll have to do better in some areas because we’re going to have our hands full (Saturday) against Houston.”

Houston reached the 2017 TSAA state Class 3A championship game by beating Bradley Central and then lost to Riverdale in the title game.

Anaya Evans scored 12 points for the Lady Canes and hit four of the team’s 3-pointers. McKenna Hayes added 11 points and drained three 3s.

Keyanna Logan and Briana Tipton each scored 14 points for Bolton.

Bradley girls 53, Southwind 26: The Bearettes (8-1) were stellar at times and downright ugly at others, but still had plenty of weapons to rout the outmanned Lady Jaguars (5-4).

Bradley started with a blistering pace and jumped to a 7-0 lead and was up 18-3 at the first break. They were cruising at 32-8 at halftime hammered Southwind, 22-1, on points off turnovers. The Bearettes will take on Arlington (8-1) on Saturday right after three former standouts – Alice Hancock, Paige Redman (now the Oak Ridge girls coach) and Amy Geren McGowan – are inducted into the Bearettes Hall of Fame.

“We came out ready to play tonight,” said junior Anna Walker, who scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds – six on the defensive boards – and also had three steals. “Defensively, we did some good things (forced 26 turnovers and had eight steals) but on offense when we’re shooting bad and even layups are not going in, there’s definitely some frustration.”

The Bearettes wound up shooting 38.8 percent (19 for 49) and out-rebounded Southwind, 38-27. They ended with 21 turnovers, 16 in the second half when reserves were on the court for extended time and the team failed to score in the final 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

“The game was basically over at halftime,” Bradley coach Jason Reuter said. “There was some bad decision-making, 21 turnovers and seniors were making some of those mistakes and we still won by 27 points. A lot of people would have to have some of those problems.

“We had young players on the floor a lot in the second half, but I’m not upset with the turnovers as much. This team may just have to wins games ugly.”

Bradley’s bench did outscore Southwind reserves, 20-2, and had a 19-3 edge in second-chance points and 28-12 in the paint.

Bradley junior Alexis Barnes scored 12 points and made all five of her shots and grabbed four rebounds.

Bradley boys 63, Rhea County 37: The Bears (4-1) kept the Golden Eagles’ season on a downward spiral with balanced – and unselfish – scoring in the 12-point victory. Coach Chuck Clark’s squad got a game-high 14 points from Tray Curry, 11 by Tucker Greene and Saylor Clark chipped in 10 points.

The Bears were credited with 20 assists, three each by Quante Berry, Clark, Tyler Ferguson and Ashton Boyd. Neither did it hurt that Bradley came up with 17 steals, led by Antonio Waley’s five. The Bears outscored Rhea, 39-9, off turnovers and the bench provided them with a 24-11 edge.

Bradley enjoyed its biggest lead of the game, 31 points with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter. The Eagles managed just 23 points through the first

Bradley, which won its third straight game, shot 44 percent from the field (23 of 52) and 35 percent (9 of 26) from 3-point distance – Clark and Boyd each knocked down two 3s.

Rhea County actually was more accurate from the field (17 for 37, 44 percent) than the Bears, the Eagles just made fewer shots.

Ricky Guthrie led the Eagles with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Saturday’s Schedule

At Bradley Central High School

Girls – Houston vs. East Hamilton, 11 a.m.

Girls – Southwind vs. Oak Ridge, 12:30 p.m.

Boys – Bolton vs. Riverdale, 2 p.m.

Girls – Bolton vs. Cleveland, 3:30 p.m.

Boys – Rhea County vs. East Hamilton, 5 p.m.

Girls – Arlington vs. Bradley Central, 6:30 p.m.

Boys – Oak Ridge vs. Bradley Central, 8 p.m.

Scoring Summaries

Boys Games

Riverdale                          17 14 17 7 – 55

East Hamilton                  21 10 8 14 – 53

Riverdale (55) – Cobb 7, Davon Perry 16, Thompson 9, Maliak McAllister 11, Simon, Nelson 2, Wooton, Johnson 5, Crawford 3, Whittington 2.

East Hamilton (53) – Jamaal Walker 17, Montgomery 9, Morrell Schramm 10, Long 5, D. Randolph 4, Eller, Shropshire, S. Randolph 8, Johnson.

3-Point Goals – Riverdale 8 (McAllister 3, Perry 2, Thompson 1, Johnson 1, Crawford 1), East Hamilton 4 (Walker 1, Montgomery 1, Long 1, S. Randolph 1.

Bolton                                 14 19 20 14 4 4 2 – 77

Oak Ridge                           20 21 9 17 4 4 4 – 79

Bolton (77) – Jadarius Carter 18, Robertson 2, Gloster 5, Ryan 3, Crockett, Thompson, Te. Banks, Jamarius Carter 17, Kjuan Banks 20, Tristen Jones 12.

Oak Ridge (79) – Marcus Smith 17, Javonte Davis 26, Isaiah Johnson 10, Jo. Kesterson 6, Jeremy Miller 16, Smith 2, Milloway, Jac. Kesterson 2.

3-Point Goals – Bolton 4 (Jones 2, Jam. Carter 1, Jad. Carter 1), Oak Ridge 3 (Jo. Kesterson 2, Thomas 1).

Bradley Central                7 20 19 17 – 63

Rhea County                      9 6 8 14 – 37

Bradley Central (63) – Berry 4, Saylor Clark 10, Tray Curry 14, Ferguson 3, Rothwell 8, Boyd 8, Wesley, Smith, Waley 1, McCleary 4, Tucker Greene 11, Davis.

Rhea County (37) – Waldo, Taylor 2, Laws 6, Ricky Guthrie 12, Hill 4, Harveston 3, Vincent, Allen, Thunquist 4.

3-Point Goals – Bradley Central 9 ( Greene 3, Clark 2, Boyd 2), Rhea County 3 (Palemino 2, Harveston 1).

Girls Games

Bolton                                  3 16 20 6 – 45

East Hamilton                  19 22 13 14 – 68

Bolton (45) – Keyanna Logan14, Briana Tipton 14, L. Wright 4, Simpson 4, Garner, Gary, M. Wright, Kelly 2, Allen 7.

East Hamilton (68) – Anaya Evans 12, Madison Hayes 21, McKenna Hayes 11, Petitt 3, Laboo 5, Patton, Dezah Lacy 13, Johnson 3, Coppelano, Sue, Seder.

3-Point Goals – Bolton 6 (Tipton 3, Logan 2, Allen 1), East Hamilton 11 (Evans 4, Mc. Hayes 3, Ma. Hayes 2, Petitt 1, Johnson 1).  

Oak Ridge                          12 14 10 14 – 50

Arlington                            19 12 19 15 – 65

Oak Ridge (50) – Khamani Mitchell-Steen 13, Dunbar 9, Eckles 2, Copeland 7, Jada Guinn 19, Davis, Holt.

Arlington (65) – Nya Stewart 16, Christian Nichols 15, Lanetta Williams 14, Bates 3, Ca. Taylor 8, Ch. Taylor 6, Claybrooks 3, Dupree, Shanklin, Lanyce Williams, Long 0.

3-Point Goals – Oak Ridge 1 (Mitchell-Steen 1), Arlington 2 (Stewart 1, Bates 1).

Bradley Central                18 14 12 9 – 53

Southwind                         3 5 7 11 – 26

Bradley Central (53) – Hughes 1, Roberts 7, Blair 5, Anna Walker 14, Lombard 6, Alexis Barnes 12, Mayo 8, Reuter, Carman, Hullender, Falcon.

Southwind (26) – Wright 1, Patton 2, Yaya Coleman 14, Brown 5, Bolden 2, Chambers 2, Robinson.

3-Point Goals – Bradley Central 5 (Walker 2, Roberts 1, Blair 1, Mayo 1), Southwind 2 (Coleman 2).

Rhea County                      22 15 11 8 – 56

Houston                              19 17 17 15 – 68

Rhea County (56) – Cameron 5, Smith 5, Taylor 8, Mallory Hampton 14, Welch 15, Davis, Jenkins 1, Gentry 8.

Houston (68) – Jayla Hemingway 32, Zip Davis 12, Griggs 4, Destinee Wells 12, Carter 4, A. Wilson, Westbrook 2, I. Wilson 2, Belcher.

3-Point Goals – Rhea County 10 (Welch 4, Taylor  

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)