After leading by 15 points at the half, East Ridge overcame a hostile Soddy Daisy home crowd and a furious comeback effort by the Trojans. The Pioneers were further put to the test when two key starters fouled out and Soddy Daisy’s Shawn Pangle led a comeback attempt that left the game hanging in the balance down to the very last second.
Down the stretch, an inexperienced East Ridge bench showed poise and confidence as they fended off Pangle’s heroics and avoided dropping a third game to Soddy Daisy this season, advancing to the next round of the District 6-AAA tournament by a 51-48 final.
As rain fell outside, a vast swarm of Soddy Daisy students, parents and alumni found shelter inside the gym and worked together to create the thunderous racket synonymous with playoff basketball. Early on, the players matched the outdoor precipitation with rain of their own dropping in four three-pointers in the first quarter.
Soddy Daisy senior Shawn Pangle got the shooting started, using his smooth shooting to score Soddy Daisy’s first seven points, and remaining the only Trojan to record a field goal in the entire first half. Pangle finished with a game-high 25 points, 11 of which came by halftime.
For East Ridge, Hasani Jackson bested Pangle’s first-half performance with 14 points of his own, displaying a sweet outside stroke with three triples in the half. The slender scorers dueled all night, but by the break, Cadion Harris and Tyree Smith had pitched in to give East Ridge a 29-14 lead at halftime.
“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” said East Ridge head coach Tre High. “I told them we’re in a 12-round fight. We won the first six rounds, but I knew they were coming back,” said High.
Six third-quarter points from Tyree Smith kept East Ridge out in front for the majority of the third quarter, but a much-needed 5-0 run from the Trojans to end the third got them just close enough to keep a comeback bid alive as the game moved into its decisive final period.
The bleachers rattled and eardrums ached all fourth quarter as the Soddy Daisy faithful tried to will their team back into the game in crunch time. The Trojans used the boisterous support to chip away all quarter and with four minutes to go, East Ridge starting point guard Cadion Harris fouled out, soon followed by Tyree Smith, leaving the Pioneers short-handed in the waning minutes of a five-point game.
Following back-to-back Trojan buckets inside the two-minute mark, the tide seemed to have turned completely as the Trojans had charged back, leaving unheralded role players and bench guys to ward off the army of Trojans that was now seething with confidence.
The patched-together group of Derrick Carnes, Jarius Ware, Darrius Hamilton, and freshman Deaunte Robinson, three of which hadn't played a minute in the first half, did just that. Under the scrutiny of a raucous crowd eager to see them slip up, the four of them accounted for every single East Ridge point in the fourth quarter, showing poise in the biggest moments of their high school careers to date.
“We play orange (starters) versus blue (bench) in practice,” said High. I tell them all the time, “Look, the orange team is good, but it’s going to come down to you blue guys.” The blue guys are who are going to carry us through the tournament, and that’s what happened tonight,” said High.
With inside of a minute left, winning by just a point, Deaunte Robinson showed composure beyond his years as he sliced through the lane for a clutch layup, rousing Cadion Harris and Tyree Smith to their feet in support of their freshman’s apprentice and his gutsy, potentially game-saving bucket.
“He’s our future,” said High of Robinson. “He’s been taking these lumps from Tyree Smith and Cadion Harris all year. They’ve been beating him to death in practice, and since they’ve been beating him to death in practice, he’s growing up,” said High.
Soddy Daisy answered once again, however, and after Chad Eller cut the lead back to just a point with 10 seconds remaining, the ball was in the hands of another East Ridge role player, Darrius Hamilton, as he was intentionally fouled and sent to the line.
Hamilton seemed to relish the moment, smiling and clapping his hands as he approached the free-throw line, and confidently drained them both.
In the Tojans’ final attempt at an improbable victory, their half-court heave was well off the mark, and their comeback fell short. Sorrowful tears streamed down the faces of Soddy Daisy players as they made their way off the court as looks of relief covered the faces of the Pioneers.
Coach Tre High left the playing surface with his head tilted and an eyebrow raised as if to suggest that another minute of the stressful action might have left him hospitalized.
East Ridge will advance to take on East Hamilton Friday night, looking to take down another team that swept the Pioneers in their regular-season series.
SUMMARY
EAST RIDGE 15 14 11 11 - 51
SODDY DAISY 8 6 13 21 - 48
EAST RIDGE (51) - Hasani Jackson 17, Tyree Smith 12, Harris 7, Hamilton 6, Ware 4, Robinson 2, Matherly 2, Carnes 1, Taylor, Hardwood.
SODDY DAISY (48) - Shawn Pangle 25, Landtroop 9, Eller 4, Hughes 4, Williams 3, Bridgman 2, Mull 1, Johnson, Ervin, Love.
3-point goals: East Ridge 6 (Jackson 3, Smith 2, Harris); Soddy Daisy 4 (Pangle 4).
Records: East Ridge (12-14); Soddy Daisy (14-10).