Shootout streaks continue

SPRING HILL — It wasn’t Nick Campbell’s wardrobe adjustment that resulted in Columbia Central’s seventh straight McDonald’s Shootout victory over Spring Hill — or, more importantly, the Lions’ third win in as many outings over the last five days.

It’s just an interesting coincidence that, since the second-year coach opted for a dress shirt and tie over a polo and pullover, Central has picked up a pair of District 8-AAA decisions over Tullahoma and at Lawrence County in addition to Saturday’s 79-67 victory.

“It’s got nothing to do with the tie. We’re just playing better,” Campbell said after Central — which lost eight of its first nine games and sat at 2-11 a week ago — scored 12 unanswered points in the opening quarter and led the host Raiders by as many as 21 late in the third but had to hold on down the stretch, as usual, to improve to 16-5 over the history of the Shootout.

Spring Hill (5-10) trailed by 21 in the waning moments of the first half before Campbell was called for a technical foul for interference when he caught a live ball in front of his team’s bench. Alex Rose hit one of the resultant two free throws, and Keishean Brashear scored on the ensuing possession to make it a 39-21 game at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Lions hit six of their 11 3-point baskets — but the Raiders kept pace as Rose hit four treys and Ty Bryant hit another.

The hosts’ flurry kept them in position to go on a 14-4 spurt early in the fourth period and cut the deficit to 67-59 with four minutes remaining.

“Then we had two possessions where we turned it over,” Spring Hill coach Jimmy Young said. “We’ve got to do a better job in that situation. We try to tell ‘em, every possession down the stretch, we’ve got to get a good shot and we’ve got to take care of the basketball.

“They got two easy baskets and pushed it back out to 12. We were missing shots, and they were making shots. They did a good job. They came in here and did what they needed to do to win a ballgame.”

The Raiders made one final rush, with Max Phillips scoring in the low post to pull within 71-64 at the 1:53 mark, but Q Martin and Devin Reynolds combined to hit 6-of-9 free throws the rest of the way to seal the outcome.

“We just had to keep playing our game — stay aggressive, keep doing what we were going in the first half, no letups,” Reynolds said.

“We’ve got to play the third quarter with the same intensity we play the first half,” Campbell said. “Sometimes the worst thing for us is halftime. But the kids are getting better in late-game situations. Devin and Q hit free throws late; that was huge. And Cam Johnson played well. He shot the ball well and defended like crazy.”

Johnson scored a game-high 19 points with Martin adding 17 and Reynolds 10 for Central (5-11). Rose led Spring Hill with 18 points, with Landen Secrest scoring 13, Jaylan Rucker 12 and Bryant 10.

“In the first half, we were getting open looks but we weren’t hitting them,” Secrest said. “In the second half, we hit them, and we shook (Central) a little. But down the stretch, we were trading buckets. We weren’t getting stops.

“We compete in a hard district (11-AAA). We’re always this close in a hard district. We’ve just got to be able to put together four quarters.”

Size matters: In the girls game, shorthanded Columbia Central had no answer for Ricole Alderson in the low post. Alderson scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half as the host Lady Raiders won 68-43 for their second consecutive Shootout victory after last year’s 36-23 win at Central.

“We’re starting to mesh a little bit,” Spring Hill coach Matt Horton said as his team won its second game in as many nights, following a 64-42 league victory at Franklin. “We’re starting to understand a little better, play a little better, play a little harder, and hopefully at the right time.”

Central (3-13) trailed 33-29 two minutes into the second half, before the hosts scored 13 straight points for a commanding 17-point cushion a minute into the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Lady Lions — already playing without Janiyha Riley, Zaria Hall, Makiyah Edwards and I’mya Hill — lost junior Jenice Bailey when she injured her right knee late in the third period.

Prairie Stedman added 22 points for Spring Hill (7-10) and Sierra Stedman 12. Josie Parks finished with 22 points to lead Columbia Central.

The Lady Raiders have won four of the last five games in the series, a stretch broken only by Central’s 47-38 win in 2018 at Spring Hill. The Lady Lions still hold a 14-6 advantage overall.

“We’ve won two straight … ,” Horton said. “For the three years I’ve been here, I feel we’ve had the better team. It’s a rivalry; you always want to win those.

Shootout winner: Columbia Central senior Spring Holland won the McDonald’s Shootout halftime shooting contest and was presented with a $1,000 scholarship by McDonald’s of Maury County. Other competitors were Central’s Treyston Hood and Spring Hill’s Emma Swoish and Remone Kelley.

Spring Hill girls 68, Columbia Central 43

CC 17 7 5 14 — 43

SH 16 12 14 26 — 68

Columbia Central (43) — Josie Parks 22, Ryleigh Hamm 3, Jenice Bailey 6, Tamiya Ellis 4, Karma Hunt 8

Spring Hill (68) — Katherine Carter 2, Ricole Alderson 26, Madison Bonds 6, Sierra Stedman 12, Prairie Stedman 22

3-pointers — Columbia Central 8 (Parks 3, Hamm, Bailey 2, Hunt 2), Spring Hill 3 (S. Stedman 2, P. Stedman)

Columbia Central boys 79, Spring Hill 67

CC 15 24 24 16 — 79

SH 9 12 24 22 — 67

Columbia Central (79) — Keshawn Frierson 9, DQ Mitchell 9, Devin Reynolds 10, Cam Johnson 19, Carter Szydlowski 8, Q Martin 17, Omari Franklin 5, Bubba Perkins 2

Spring Hill (67) — Ty Bryant 10, Max Phillips 7, Jaylan Rucker 12, Kaishean Brasher 4, Landen Secrest 13, Alex Rose 18, Avery Worstell 3

3-pointers — Columbia Central 11 (Frierson, Reynolds 3, Johnson 5, Martin, Franklin), Sprng Hill 8 (Bryant 2, Phillips, Rose 5)