HIGH SCHOOL TEAM PAGES DOBYNS-BENNETT

Indians Muster Enough Energy in Quick Turn-Around Win Over Jeff County

Indians Muster Enough Energy in Quick Turn-Around Win Over Jeff County
Abiah Releford (20) finishes a Tribe fast break with a finger roll against Jefferson County. TriCitiesSports.com photo by Allen Greene. More photos below and inside the TriCitiesSports.com photo gallery.
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
January 12, 2019

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- Dobyns-Bennett led from before the start of Saturday afternoon’s game against Jefferson County to its conclusion in a 76-50 victory over the Patriots at the Buck Van Huss Dome.

The contest started with a pair of technical free throws the by the Tribe’s Marae Foreman after Jefferson County’s Jordan Mullins was spied dunking in pre-game warm-ups which is still against archaic TSSAA rules.

From there, the Tribe quickly opened an 11-2 advantage and was never headed by the Patriots.


Coming off a very tough one-point conference defeat at Tennessee High on Friday night, Dobyns-Bennett coach Chris Poore ordered up an aggressive, often full-court pressure defense, utilizing his deep bench early, to insure an energetic effort by his club despite the quick turnaround.

“That was a question mark,” said Poore. “How are you going to bounce back and respond after a tough loss in a very emotional game? We got everybody involved early. I was pleased with our effort and focus.”

Poore also wanted his defense to do something it hadn’t been able to do much against his former team yet in his tenure with the Indians.

“We have struggled in the past against Jefferson County to turn them over and speed them up,” continued Poore. “I thought our guys did a very good job with that.”

Against the Vikings on Friday, Dobyns-Bennett dished out a season-low eight assists but had 20 facilitations on 30 made baskets less than 24 hours later.

“Part of it was we didn’t shoot it well against Tennessee High, but most of it was our inability or lack of passing the ball to where we could make shots,” Poore added. 

Senior point guard Marae Foreman assisted on the first five made buckets by the Tribe and finished with seven assists in the game.

“That set the tone for the whole team,” explained Poore. “We watched last night’s film today as a team and we saw that when we are at our best we are sharing the basketball. We are not taking tough shots for ourselves, we are getting everybody involved and creating shots for others.” 

As a result, the Indians placed four players in double figures led by Foreman’s 16 points. Jared Strickland finished with 15 points, Charlie Browder had 14 and Abiah Releford 11. Releford also had six assists. 

The Indians (16-3) forged a 38-16 advantage at halftime and poured in 30 points in the third quarter to produce a continuous clock fourth stanza.

Jefferson County’s Darius was injured in the first few minutes of the game between the two sides last month and left without scoring a point. The versatile Allen led all scorers with 25 points on Saturday.

“Darius can play,” Poore said. “He’s a tough match-up for anybody.”

Michael Eldridge chipped in with seven points for the Patriots (8-11) and Ryan Cusick sank a pair of late three-pointers to finish with his six points. After receiving the pre-game technical, Mullins was kept out of the game via coach’s decision.

JEFFERSON COUNTY (50) -- Darius Allen 8 4-4 25, Braxton Chaney 1 0-0 2, Michael Eldridge 3 0-0 7, Tommy Griffin 1 0-0 2, Ryan Cusick 2 0-0 6, Camden Fritz 0 0-0 0, Jonah Hillard 0 0-1 0, Kobe Parker 2 1-2 5, Jacob Thompson 0 0-0 0, Noah Bowman 0 0-0 0, Mason Ledford 0 0-0 0, Kade Parker 1 0-0 3, Totals 18 5-7 50.

DOBYNS-BENNETT (76) -- Marae Foreman 5 5-5 16, Chase Jenkins 1 1-1 3, Brit Thomas 2 0-0 5, Riamello Wadsworth 2 1-1 5, Charlie Browder 7 0-1 14, Zane Whitson 0 0-0 0, Jared Strickland 6 2-2 15, Jaden Alderson 2 0-0 4, Braxton Kulbacki 0 0-0 0, Jahson Dennis 0 0-0 0, Brody Potter 0 0-0 0, Garet Sherer 0 2-2 2, Totals 30 11-12 76.
 
Jefferson County
6
10
17
17
-- 50
Dobyns-Bennett
16
22
30
8
-- 76
 
FG - Jefferson County 18-44, Dobyns-Bennett 30-59. Three-Point FG - Jefferson County 9-26, Dobyns-Bennett 5-15. Three-Pointers - Jefferson County 9 (Allen 5, Cusick 2, Eldridge, Ka. Parker), Dobyns-Bennett 5 (Foreman, Thomas, Releford, Strickland, Wadsworth). Rebounds - Jefferson County 20 (Griffin 6, Cusick 5), Dobyns-Bennett 28 (Dennis 5). Assists - Jefferson County 8 (Griffin 3), Dobyns-Bennett 20 (Foreman 7, Releford 6). Steals - Jefferson County 5 (Allen 2), Dobyns-Bennett 6 (Releford 2). Blocks - Jefferson County 3, Dobyns-Bennett 4 (Browder 2, Thomas 2). Turnovers - Jefferson County 13, Dobyns-Bennett 10. Total Fouls - Jefferson County 6, Dobyns-Bennett 10. Technical Fouls - Jordan Mullins, Dobyns-Bennett. Fouled Out - none.

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