Mavericks roast Red Devils
The Anderson County Mavericks knocked off visiting Halls on Friday night to move to 4-0 in district play for the first time in nearly a decade.
It is also the first 4-0 district opening for Anderson County as a 3A school.
The final score was 64-55.
The Red Devils took the early lead following the hot shooting of Jordan Corvette, who scored 11 points in the first quarter to help Halls to a 12-11 lead.
The Mavericks fought back in the second quarter as Braden Irwin, Grant Hayes, Jordan Hembree, and Marquise Gallahar scored to help Anderson County take a 22-18 lead at halftime. Corvette was held without a score in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, scoring slowed for the Mavericks as the Red Devils cut into the lead to make it a 37-36 game.
The fourth quarter belonged to Anderson County as Spencer Chandler continued his steady scoring and rebounding to offset the 11 points scored by Jordan Biliter of Halls.
The Mavericks outscored Halls 27-19 in the final eight minutes to win going away.
“Spencer [Chandler] didn’t play well in the first half and that was the big reason, in my opinion, that it was close. Jordan Hembree kind of carried us in the first half and Marquise [Gallahar] hit two 3’s early,” said Derek Wallace, head coach of the Mavericks.
“Us shooting the ball well this year has changed a lot for us. We’re shooting almost 35 percent from 3-point range as a team. We shooting 50 percent on twos and 75 percent or so from the free throw line. We’re just a good shooting team this year,” he said.
“Grant Hayes was 6-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. And coming off of the bench, that’s huge. Free throws have been big for us this year,” Wallace added.
Corvette led all scorers with 24 points.
Chandler led Anderson County with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and one block. Gallahar and Hembree each scored 13 points while Irwin had 10 points for the Mavericks.
Anderson County returns to action on Friday when they visit Powell at 7:30 p.m.
They tip-off play in the Anderson County Christmas Tournament next Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. against Loudon.
Halls 12 6 18 19 55
AC 11 11 15 27 64
Halls — Jordan Corvette (24), Jordan Biliter (15), Riley Lloyd (4), Cooper Watson (3), Skylar Stalcup (3), Scottie Childress (2), Landon Wells (2), Richy Vineyard (2)
AC — Spencer Chandler (18), Jordan Hembree (13), Marquise Gallahar (13), Braden Irwin (10), Grant Hayes (7), Harrison Ogburn (3)