Those young men who play basketball for Chattanooga Prep School made history Monday night.
Certainly one of the newest schools in Hamilton County and without a doubt one of the most talented basketball teams despite having no juniors or seniors, they qualified for the TSSAA BlueCross State Tournament for the first time in their second year of having a team.
It wasn’t easy as Pickett County refused to surrender as the Sentinels advanced to Murfreesboro next week with the 57-48 victory that took an extra four-minute overtime to prevail.
The Sentinels improve to 28-8 with their sixth-straight victory while the Bobcats headed back to Byrdstown with a final mark of 17-14.
Prep coach Christoffer Collins did a great job of keeping his cool during the game and even during the overtime period, but he was as excited as a little kid at Christmas after his team punched their ticket to the Glass House for the first time ever.
“This is really mind blowing, but we just had to keep fighting and all the hard work we’ve put in finally paid off,” Collins said to a host of media reps near half-court following the game.
“What a difference a year makes, but we just wanted it a little more. We’ve worked hard to get in shape this season and that was a key as we sort of wore them down in the overtime.
“Free throws almost cost us the game, but we really put the defensive pressure on them in the overtime as we felt like 90 percent of the loose balls belonged to us. But these guys have done a great job of buying in to what we’re teaching and now we can make our plans for a trip to Murfreesboro,” Collins concluded with a huge grin.
The Sentinels had more size and more quickness than the Bobcats, but those guys wearing the black uniforms never panicked as they handled the pressure extremely well and they made some key buckets in the second half that gave them a chance to win.
Pickett County coach Joseph Amonett was just disappointed that the final result didn’t match the outstanding effort his kids put forth.
“This was just two teams who played their hearts out. We were able to score and handle their pressure as we have really good guards, but it’s tough to win a sectional game on the road,” Amonett said just outside the Pickett County dressing room.
“We left it all on the court as we didn’t get rattled, but we leave here with no regrets. I just wish the outcome had been different,” he added.
Joel Bulis and Eli Gaines scored to start the game as the Sentinels led 4-0 early before building a 15-9 lead when the first quarter ended.
A bucket from Derrick Roberson extended Prep’s lead to 18-11 with 5:50 left in the second before Pickett scored six straight to get within one at 18-17 following two free throws by Eli Reagan with 4:41 left.
Five straight points by Prep extended the lead to 23-17 with 3:25 left before intermission and the difference at the break was four points at 25-21.
The Bobcats kept battling in the third quarter and finally tied the score at 37-37 when Reagan connected on a jumper from the line to end the quarter.
Reagan swished a 3 from the wing in the first minute of the fourth to give Pickett County its first lead at 40-37 and they maintained that advantage for the next five minutes before DeAndre Turnbow knotted it at 44-44 with a jumper from the line with 1:55 left in regulation.
A drive down the lane by Reagan gave the Bobcats their last lead at 46-44 with 1:40 to play before the Sentinels regained the advantage following back-to-back buckets from Gaines and Bulis, the last following a steal by TaSuade Williams with 36 seconds left.
Jacob Amonett sank both ends of a one-and-one with 17 seconds left to knot the score before the Sentinels called a timeout with 8.7 seconds left. The play called during the break never materialized as the last shot was never taken, setting the stage for the extra period.
A jumper from the wing by Turnbow gave the Sentinels the lead for the last time before Roberson made it 52-48 with two free throws with 1:47 to play.
Prep had a chance to completely put the game away, but missed four straight free throws. However, they grabbed key offensive rebounds on both occasions to maintain possession.
A layup by Williams and two free throws by Gaines in the final minute were the final points as the celebration began as the clock wound down.
Roberson scored 20 points to lead Chattanooga Prep while Gaines matched his jersey number with 15. Bulis was next with 10.
Reagan led the Bobcats with 24 points and also grabbed a dozen rebounds as his team had an unofficial 26-25 advantage on the boards. Amonett was also in double figures with 13.
Bulis paced the Sentinels with seven rebounds while Turnbow snagged six and Williams five.
PICKETT CO. 9 12 16 11 0 -- 48
CHATT. PR 15 10 12 11 9 -- 57
PICKETT CO. (48) – Miller, Anderson, Parris, Jacob Amonett 13, Eli Reagan 24, Harris 4, Thomas, Burton 7.
CHATTANOOGA PREP (57) – Turnbow 4, Williams 6, Joel Bulis 10, Eli Gaines 15, Randolph, Derrick Roberson 20, Jones 2.
3-POINT GOALS: Pickett Co. 3 (Amonett, Reagan, Harris); Chattanooga Prep 3 (Roberson 3).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)