The one thing District 4-A has taught the masses thus far this year, is that nobody is safe from defeat. There are no gimmes. Or as Sale Creek girls coach Tobin Davidson so eloquently put it Thursday night: “if you don’t show up, there’s an L waiting for you.”
Both Davidson’s Lady Panthers and Mark Dragoo’s CSAS boys’ squad showed up just enough last night to earn their programs much-needed wins to keep pace with the league’s elite.
Sale Creek girls handled business with a 46-42 win over CSAS, and the Patriot boys held off Sale Creek 49-37 to earn a split on the night between the two 4-A programs.
The win by CSAS keeps the boys within striking distance of league-leader Copper Basin while the surprising Sale Creek girls remained tied with Tellico Plains for the top spot among the girls.
Sale Creek girls 46, CSAS 42: The Lady Panthers came into the game having done what nobody else in the district had done in the last three years: hand the mighty Tellico Plains Lady Bears their first loss since they moved over to 4-A, ending a 25-game run against district foes in which the Lady Bears had dominated.
That win last week, though, meant absolutely nothing to the Lady Patriots who led at the break 21-17 and were poised to dash any hopes of a regular-season championship for the Lady Panthers. Fortunately for Davidson, Sale Creek had an answer thanks to his twin tower duet of sophomores Keilyn Morgan and Kayla Phillips.
After missing nine straight 3-point attempts in a second quarter in which CSAS outscored them 14-4 to take the halftime lead, Sale Creek went back to its inside attack where Morgan and Phillips thrived. Phillips had nine second half points and Morgan added seven as Sale Creek built a 41-33 lead late into the fourth, and held off a desperate rally by the Lady Patriots.
“We couldn’t throw it in the ocean in that second quarter, but thankfully we got back to doing what we do best. Those two girls carry us. We’re really young and still learning how to win, but I see our confidence growing every time out,” said Davidson.
“The win over Tellico was really big for us. They beat us bad the first time we played them (36-point loss) but we were determined to get some revenge. I think winning that game helped us to keep our composure tonight,” said Morgan, who also added 17 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of really nice assists to her 12 point night.
“Every game is a learning experience for us. We’re really young, but we are starting to come together,” added Phillips, who led the Lady Panthers with 15 points and also grabbed 15 boards.
Sale Creek missed six of 11 free throws down the stretch to make it interesting, especially when Macie Meyners’ 3-pointer pulled CSAS to within 43-40 with 31 seconds left. Phillips hit a pair of big freebies, though, and Sale Creek was able to hold on.
“Losing our big girl (Jekya Benn) in the first half (head injury) hurt us. We were one short in the rotation and their big girls hurt us. I was proud of the way we fought, though,” said CSAS coach Zach Dragoo.
Sale Creek remains tied with Tellico at 4-1 in league play and on track to earn a co-championship with games remaining against Lookout Valley (3-3), CSAS (2-4), and Copper Basin (2-3).
CSAS boys 49, Sale Creek 37: Mark Dragoo is a veteran coach who has gotten a lot out of his teams over the years. When the Patriots lost their first two district games within the first week of the season, he immediately turned it to his advantage.
“We dug ourselves a hole that first week with the two losses, but I told the guys I thought whoever won the district title would do so with two losses so we’ve turned every district game into a championship game. They’ve responded well to that, but I thought tonight might have been the first time they felt a little tight and pressured, especially on offense,” said Dragoo.
The Patriots did struggle some shooting the ball, but made up for it with a tenacious pressing defense that really took the Panthers out of any flow. CSAS forced 29 turnovers on the night, but its shooting woes limited its ability to take full advantage of it.
“We didn’t capitalize on it. We should have probably scored about 40 of the turnovers, but I thought we aimed the ball tonight instead of shooting it. I was proud of the way they took to our scouting report, though. Sale Creek is really good at backdoor plays and inbounds buckets, and we gave up one of each tonight, so I know they at least read the scouring report,” Dragoo said.
The Patriots hit on only two of 17 attempts behind the arc, but held the Panthers to just 14 first-half points. They found a little bit of a rhythm in the third period as things seemed to slow down a bit from an otherwise hectic pace Sale Creek forced, pushing the lead out to 37-24 heading into the final period.
Jordan Morris and big man Louis Bell each tallied double figures for the CSAS squad with 10 apiece as CSAS shot just 32 percent from the floor (20 of 62). Sale Creek didn’t get near as many shots due to the turnover problem and made just 14 of its 46 shots (30 percent).
Jackson Greer had a nice effort for the Panthers, though, with a game-high 13 points in the low-scoring affair.
“I thought we played hard on defense, and competed, but we just had a real hard time with their quickness. It’s hard to simulate in practice, and we just never settled down,” said Sale Creek coach David Helton.
The win keeps CSAS (3-2) within striking distance of league leader Copper Basin (4-1) and tied with Lookout Valley (3-2) and Tellico Plains (3-2) in what should lead to an interesting few weeks to close out the season.
“It’s going to be a tight one. We got what we needed tonight, and I was really happy to see Trent (Grudzinski) back on the court tonight, working his way back into the rotation. It will help us down the road,” Dragoo added.
Grudzinski broke his arm in the season-opener and last night was his first time back in uniform, playing with a protective cast on his arm.
GIRLS SUMMARY
SALE CREEK 13 4 18 11 – 46
ARTS & SCIENCES 7 14 8 13 – 42
SALE CREEK (46) – Kayla Phillips 15, L. Morgan 9, Welch, Keilyn Morgan 12, Preston 3, S. Defore 4.
ARTS & SCIENCES (42) – Deyonna Lansden 15, Macie Meyners 17, Houston 4, Mayes 4, Benn, Thompson.
3-point goals: Sale Creek 1 (Phillips); Arts & Sciences 4 (Meyners 3, Mayes).
BOYS SUMMARY
SALE CREEK 9 5 10 13 – 37
ARTS & SCIENCES 14 6 11 12 – 49
SALE CREEK (37) – Akins 3, Jackson Greer 13, Loomis 6, Morgan, Penny 1, Roberts 5, Smith, Wilson 8.
ARTS & SCIENCES (49) – Foster 8, Brown, Wright 8, Grudzinski 2, Jordan Morris 10, Few, Cameron 4, Brown 3, Ramsey, McFarland, Wilson, Louis Bell 10, Pride, Pace 3.
3-point goals: Sale Creek 2 (Akins, Greer); Arts & Sciences 2 (Foster, Brown).
(Contact James Beach via email at 1134james@gmail.com or Twitter @beachnut1134)