Last-second layup seals a win for CA
MURFREESBORO — Returning from a four-game suspension, Gary Smith Jr. made his presence felt from beginning to end Friday night as Columbia Academy traveled to Middle Tennessee Christian.
The senior forward scored the game’s first basket and the last — the latter a dramatic end-to-end drive for a reverse layup just before the final horn as the Bulldogs rallied from an 11-point opening-half deficit for a 68-66 Division II-A district victory.
“He was rusty,” CA coach Marty DeJarnette said regarding Smith, who missed two weeks of games and practices as a result of a school disciplinary issue. “You can go work out, you can be in the gym, but there’s nothing like game shape. It took a while to get his legs under him.
“That play at the end — obviously he made a play there.”
Between those two buckets, Drew Butt scored nine points in a 19-2 run to open the third quarter for CA (18-6, 12-3), and Riley Weller connected on back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth period.
All that offense was much needed, as Braden Smith scored half of his game-high 26 points in the final three minutes to help keep the Cougars close.
After Middle Tennessee Christian (10-13, 4-10) tied the game on a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds to play, CA inbounded to Smith in the backcourt. From there, he wove his way through the hosts’ defense and up the left side before getting to the rim and laying the ball off the glass on the right side for the win.
“I didn’t really think about the time I had,” he said. “The plan was to call timeout at halfcourt, but when I realized they weren’t going to call it, I just went.
“I was a little nervous, because I’d missed a lot of layups before that. It was a mental thing. I wasn’t focused enough. I couldn’t get the ball in the basket in the first half.”
Smith finished with 12 points, one of four double-digit scorers for CA as Weller scored 11, Tanner Ham 14 and Butt a team-high 21.
“We had to fight for it,” Butt said. “It didn’t come easily. They’re tough in their home gym. We let some things get away from us. I didn’t think we handled their pressure well. But Riley hit some 3s, and that was a big shot by Gary at the end. Our seniors made plays. It’s a big win on the road.”
DeJarnette continues to be pleased with the resilience his team is showing — even if he’d rather not see it so regularly.
“I didn’t think we were ready to play mentally, and (MTCS) is playing so well right now, and on their home court, they’re that much better,” he said. “So I had a feeling it was going to happen, in some ways. But I didn’t expect to be down 10 so early.
“It was a gritty, gutty effort. They’re finding ways to win when it’s not your best night. In this league, I feel like you’re in the SEC or the Big Ten; it’s tough to win on the road.”
Lady Bulldogs struggle early: Managing just two free throws in the first six-plus minutes, Columbia Academy’s girls got off to a slow start and fell 59-24 to MTCS. Madi Lewis scored a team-high 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs (11-14, 4-11), while the Lady Cougars (14-9, 8-6) were paced offensively by Sydney Cooper with 23.
Middle Tenn. Chr. girls 59, Columbia Acad. 24
C 4 12 2 6 — 24
M 17 16 20 6 — 59
Columbia Acad. (24) — Kennedy Chatman 3, Isabelle Dees 2, Rachel Ivy 2, Madi Lewis 12, Karli Quillin 3, Jewels Ranes 2
Middle Tenn. Chr. (59) — Kiersten Hudson 4, Reagan Atkinson 6, Hannah Junker 2, Sarah Wisniowski 9, Sydney Cooper 23, Amaria Gillespie 8, Macy Smith 5, Rosie Davis 2
3-pointers — Columbia Acad. 3 (Chatman, Lewis 2), Middle Tenn. Chr. 5 (Atkinson 2, Cooper, Gillespie, Smith)
Columbia Acad. boys 68, Middle Tenn. Chr. 66
C 15 9 19 25 — 68
M 22 12 9 23 — 66
Columbia Acad. (68) — Tanner Ham 14, Drew Butt 21, Riley Weller 11, Chase Duncan 4, Will Jackson 2, Gary Smith Jr. 12, Paxton Powell 4
Middle Tenn. Chr. (66) — Jack Jubenville 3, Braden Smith 26, Brock Culpepper 11, Ross Prosser 3, Andrew Adams 7, Aleric Watson 12, Jonathan Burns 4
3-pointers — Columbia Acad. 7 (Ham 2, Butt 3, Weller 2), Middle Tenn. Chr. 9 (Jubenville, Smith 6, Prosser, Adams)