Jets play in region semi-finals for first time since 2004-’05

By Ed Greif / sports@crossville-chronicle.com

Playoff action continued over the weekend for the Jet and Lady Jet basketball teams, as they both competed in the Region 3AAA Tournament, as the Jets defeating the Bradley Central Bears 54-46 Saturday evening and the Lady Jets losing 68-31 at Walker Valley Friday night.

CCHS 54, BCHS 46: "We made some adjustments in the second half. Everybody played well. They were frustrated we handled their defensive pressure," said Jet coach Will Foster, whose team will carry the District 6AAA banner into the region semi-finals against the Ooltewah Owls, 70-56 winners of White County, tonight at 7:30 at Warren County High School in McMinnville.

Foster's team, which won its first district tournament championship in 26 years last Tuesday, will be making a trip to the semi-finals for the first time since the 2005-'06 season.

In the other semifinal, Cleveland faces McMinn County at 6 p.m. Cleveland defeated Warren County 98-41, while McMinn County beat Cookeville 63-58.

Tuesday's winners advance into the championship game on Thursday at 7 p.m. and earn a berth in the substate on Monday, March 8.

Junior Derreck Hankins was the trigger man for the Jets attack, scoring 21 points, one rebound, three assists and one steal.

"We got a good effort today. We played well in the first half. We picked up the intensity in the second half," said Hankins.

Kyle Pritchard added nine points and one carom, while Andrew Cravens chipped in eight points, eight boards and four assists, and Caleb Parsons tossed in eight markers, eight rebounds and one assist.

Bryce Copeland led the Bears (16-15) with 15 points, while Kyle Herron and James Stovall added 10 markers each.

Bradley Central, District 5AAA's fourth-place finisher, was in control in the first quarter, hitting eight of 16 shots from the field with two turnovers to take an 18-6 lead. CCHS was three of six from the field, but committed nine turnovers.

Copeland and Stovall had seven and six points, respectively, for the Bears in the first quarter.

The Bears, which are 23-5 over CCHS in Coach Kent Smith's 14-year career, stretched the lead to 23-8 on a trey by Copeland with just over five minutes left in the half.

Cravens converted two free throws with 4:54 left in the half to trigger a 12-2 explosion to slice the deficit to 25-20 by the break.

CCHS was four of seven from the field and five of seven from the charity stripe with four turnovers to aid the rally, while the defense held the Bears to three of nine with four turnovers.

With the Bears leading 30-26, a layup by Pritchard sparked a 15-6 run to take a 41-34 lead after three quarters to the delight of the Jet faithful in attendance Saturday night.

Pritchard had all nine of his points in the quarter, while Hankins added seven, after being held to just two in the first half. Parsons started the third quarter with a trey, as the Jets would outscore BCHS 21-9, while the Jet defense held the Bears to four of 14 from the floor with three turnovers.

Bradley Central hit eight of 10 free throws in a 12=2 run to take 46-43 advantage with 3:43 left in the contest, but a layup by senior Matt Jones started an 11-0 rally and the final 3:20 to give the Jets the victory.

Hankins had the other nine points, on a trey, a layup and four of four free throws for the Jets. The free throws sealed the deal.

When the Jets gained a 50-46 lead with 1:20, there was a boisterous, standing ovation from their fans. As the clock would down on the winning rally, the noise in the gymnasium got louder.

Give some credit to the Jets' sixth man - their fans -for this victory.

Foster thanked CCHS coaches Russ Partin (football), Darrell Brown (softball) and David Prichard (baseball) for "getting the kids out tonight. I can't say enough to the coaches for doing that."

Assistant football and head track coach Ted McCaslin was doing the announcing, and Prichard was the clock operation. Other coaches, faculty and staff were among the large crowd cheering the Jets to their victory.

In fact, the student body stood and cheered the whole night.

Scoring summary

Bradley Central (46): Copeland 15, Houston 5, Ownby 2, Stovall 10, Hopkins 4, Pierce 0, Herron 10.

CCHS (54): Jones 5, Rogers 0, Bilbrey 2, Parsons 8, Poore 0, Hankins 21, Hill 2, Bowen 2, Cravens 8, Pritchard 9.

Walker Valley 68, CCHS 31: Jordan Neutharth, Alli Moreland and Kayla Sewell tallied 20, 19 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Walker Valley Lady Mustangs to their victory in the girls semi-finals Friday night.

Brandi Green led the Lady Jets (13-16) with 12 points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals, while Kelsey Daugherty added seven markers and one board. Jaimie Rector added five points, five caroms and one assist, while Erica Lane chipped in five marker and one board.

The Lady Mustangs (28-2), behind Moreland's nine points, jumped out to a 12-0 lead, before Rector buried a trey with 1:31 left in the first quarter. The hosts finished the quarter with a 6-0 run for an 18-3 advantage.

CCHS was one of seven from the field with 11 turnovers, while Walker Valley was seven of 13 with four turnovers. 

Walker Valley continued their torrid play, outscoring CCHS 15-6 in the second quarter, for a 33-9 advantage. The Lady Musttangs were five of 18 from the field, while CCHS was two of six.

Jordan Neuharth scored 17 of her 20 in the third quarter, as the Lady Mustangs outscored CCHS 31-11 for a 64-20 lead, but Daugherty's desparation shot at the buzzer brought out the loudest cheer for the Lady Jets, who were five of 12 from the field with five turnovers.

Green and Daughtery had six and five points, respectively, for the Lady Jets.

With the large lead by the Lady Mustangs, the TSSAA's mercy rule went into effect in the final quarter, but the Lady Jets outscored Walker Valley 11-4 for the final margin.

The good news for the Lady Jets is every one who dressed Friday will return for 2010-'11, plus injured players Sara Loveday, Emily Scarbrough, Jaclyn Reagan, Sloan VanWinkle and Lauren Sliger and freshmen Brianne Hawkins, Sharon Villoa and Bre Vallecillo return to Coaches Josh Epperson and Cub Whitson.

Scoring summary

CCHS (31): Lane 5, Swafford 0, Green 12, Vaden 2, Rector 5, Daugherty 7, Hankins 0, Shinn 0, Kerr 0, Griswold 0.

Walker Valley (68): Gobble 4, J. Neuharth 20, Still 2, Smith 0, Allen 5, Watson 0, T. Neuharth 3, Stepp 0, Terpstra 0, Moreland 19, Black 0, Sotuyo 2, Sewell 12.

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