COSBY — Jeremy Wise could not have chosen a bigger game to have what might have been the best game of his basketball career.
Facing rival Cocke County, the Cosby guard was a perfect 7-of-7 from the 3-point line, scoring 27 points to lead Cosby.
Down by a point, Wise was double-teamed. However, that didn’t seem to bother him, firing up and draining a three to give the Eagles a 68-66 win on Tuesday night.
“I just wanted the ball in his hands,” Cosby coach Kurt Brooks said. “I said I was going to live with whatever he did. He had a super night. I knew that was the guy we had to go to. Jeremy Wise was here and made a great shot.”
Cosby got off to a quick start and led from the 3:30 mark in the first quarter all the way to 2:28 left in the fourth quarter. But their lead never felt safe as Cocke County stayed close.
Down eight early in the final frame, the Fighting Cocks used a 9-0 run to take a 64-62 lead with less than a minute to go. But Wise answered the bell with a 3-pointer with 46 seconds to go that gave the Eagles a 65-64 lead.
Not fazed, Cocke County answered back as Keaston Jackson hit a shot with 30 seconds left that gave the Fighting Cocks a one-point lead. Following a timeout, Wise ended up with the ball, making the game-winner.
“It was unbelievable to see us maintain our composure,” Brooks said. “The timing is perfect (to be playing well) with post season play coming up. It was a sub-state atmosphere in here tonight. That kind of atmosphere is huge for us.”
With the win, Cosby improves to 19-7 on the year, sweeping the season series against the Fighting Cocks. Wise led the team with 27 while Trey Johnson had 17 and Chad Syles had 11. The Eagles hit 13 threes in the game.
“I’m just proud of my boys,” Brooks said. “They just don’t have any quit it them. They never do, and I am just so proud of them.”
Cocke County falls to 6-19 with the loss. It was a balanced scoring effort from the Fighting Cocks with eight players scoring. Isaiah Elliot led the way with 15 points. Elliot had eight points in the final frame that got them back into the game. Jody Swann had 14 points while Hayden Green added 11.
It was a raucous game from the start with both schools’ fans creating an intense environment. The two teams traded buckets for much of the first quarter before Cosby took the lead with two minutes to go t take a 15-12 lead after one.
The Eagles kept it up in the second quarter as their three-point game got going. Cosby hit five 3-pointers in the quarter with all five of them coming from a different player. The lead got to 15 at one point and they led by 10 at the break.
In the third quarter, Cocke County made its comeback. The Fighting Cocks got the lead down to five twice but both times the Eagles hit a timely shot to get the lead back up. They led 56-50 at the end of the third.
Cocke County will be back in action on Friday as they finish off their season against Morristown East at 7:30 p.m. Cosby will be back in action on Thursday, travelling to Sevier County. Then, the Eagles return home the next night, playing Hancock County with the conference championship on the line.
“I want us to see us come out from the get-go fired up and ready,” Brooks said. “That game at Hancock County was weird. I thought we played well, but they just played really well. That’s not an easy place to win at, but we did. We found a way down the stretch. Hopefully, we can do that again on Friday.”
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