Mavs pull out OT win over ‘pesky’ Seymour
It isn’t always pretty and sometimes it takes a little overtime.
This was the case for the Anderson County High School boys Saturday night in the first round of the Region 2-AAA Tournament.
The Mavericks had to work overtime to advance as they came away with a 75-67 victory over a pesky Seymour squad.
“Better late than never,” ACHS Coach Jordan Jeffers said. “It’s about survival, and we didn’t have our best stuff.
“Seymour played really well. They were playing for their season and playing for some seniors’ careers. They brought an intensity and we really didn’t match it until the fourth quarter.”
Anderson County advanced largely due to the offensive efforts of Ryan McGhee and Hayden Craig.
McGhee had 22 points, while Craig posted a double-double as he scored 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.
The Mavericks, who won the District 4-AAA Tournament championship early last week, moved on to face Knoxville Halls, which upset its Emory Road rival Gibbs, 56-52, Saturday night in Corryton. Results for Tuesday’s elimination semifinal contest were not available at press time.
ACHS split a pair of meetings with the Red Devils during the regular season. The Mavs won in Knoxville in December, but they lost at home.
The remainder of the region tournament will be played at Carter High School in Strawberry Plains.
Mavs win district title over Dragons:
The 2022-23 season has been full of frustration for both the Clinton High and Anderson County High boys basketball teams.
But the young Dragons and the Mavericks, playing under first-year head Coach Jordan Jeffers, played for a District 4-AAA Tournament championship on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.
Throughout the season, both the Dragons and the Mavericks went through long losing streaks, but both notched tournament wins in their respective postseason openers.
Thus, the teams met for a third time early last week and the game was everything a crosstown rivalry should be.
But when the dust had settled, ACHS took the third and rubber game 50-43 in front of a spirited and nearly packed house on CHS’s home floor.
Jeffers was ecstatic after the game, but he credited the players for their effort against the Dragons.
“This has very little to do with me and everything to do with these guys,” Jeffers said. “I’m really proud of these guys for the way they bought in.
“I have a group of great guys and they’ve taken hard coaching. They went from not winning a district game last year to winning the district championship this year, and it all has to do with these kids.”
The Dragons held the upper hand in the first half, thanks in large part to their defense. Clinton led 6-4 after a low-scoring first quarter and extended its advantage to 21-14 by halftime.
ACHS, however, flipped the script after the break, trimming the Dragons’ advantage to 27-25 heading into the final frame.
Clinton had a 30-27 lead in the fourth quarter as Teegan Bolinger made a basket with 5 minutes, 47 seconds remaining.
But the Mavericks reeled off the next 11 points to pull ahead 38-30. From there, they wouldn’t trail again.
Tate Russell scored five of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Cole Russell had half of his 10 points in the final frame. That helped ACHS close the game by outscoring the Dragons 25-16 in the fourth quarter.
Longtime Clinton Coach Chris Lockard tipped his hat to the Mavs after the game.
“You know, I really think we’ve definitely improved and we knew this was going to be the kind of season where we would struggle and have such a young team,” Lockard said. “I like where we are mentally, but tonight they just made a few more plays.
“They made the plays and we didn’t.”
Jeremiah Lee led the Dragons with a game-high 17 points.