By Michael Lindsay
The Livingston Academy Wildcats and Lady Wildcats started off their seasons in the win column Thursday evening as they picked up a pair of victories at Soddy Daisy. The girls won 46-34 before the boys came back to win 60-59 on a Rocco Carwile three-pointer with 7 seconds remaining.
Girls
Thursday’s Class 2A sectional rematch went to the visiting Lady Wildcats again as they won at Soddy Daisy, 46-34.
“It was a good thing that some of our younger kids really stepped up and helped us,” said Livingston head coach Lesley Riddle. “They (Soddy) did a tremendous job defensively on Keely and Ellie. Soddy played great defense; they lost some players from last year, but it wasn’t their strength. They came back with two great players and they had a good game.”
Livingston point guard MallieGene Coleman led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points along with 9 each by Ellie Butler and Keely Mullins. Chloe Jenkins had 7 points off the bench for LA.
“Chloe Jenkins really had a good game and has really come out of her shell,” Riddle said. “Emma Poston was out all summer with a broken wrist, but she’s getting back into it.”
The Lady Wildcats jumped out to an 11-3 lead late in the first quarter via a Coleman layup. A buzzer-beating layup by Cora Copeland gave Livingston a 15-8 lead after the first period.
LA pushed their lead to double-digits early in the second quarter as a Coleman three-pointer put her team ahead 20-10 with 6:36 left in the frame. The Lady Wildcats held a 27-18 lead at halftime.
Livingston led by as many as 13 points (32-19) midway through the third period before Soddy Daisy went on a run to cut their deficit to 7 points (41-33) late in the fourth quarter.
I purposefully didn’t call timeouts in those situations because I want them to live through that,” Riddle said. “A lot of that is the leadership of the three that have been there and lived through that. It’s good that those sophomores are starting to buy in to staying calm and under control.”
Livingston withstood the Soddy run and closed out to win by a 46-34 margin. The 1-0 Lady Wildcats are scheduled to play next at Clarkrange Saturday morning.
Boys
The Livingston Academy Wildcats put on a show in their season opener as they erased a 9-point fourth-quarter deficit en route to a 60-59 victory at Soddy Daisy.
“These guys play until the buzzer,” said Livingston head coach Jimmy Miller. “I don’t think they ever think they’re out of it, and that’s a pretty special trait. When you’re small and an underdog most of your life, you feel like that.”
Tucker Miller led the Wildcats with 19 points along with 13 by Brodey Coffee and 12 from Wyatt Hargis.
“That (Soddy) was a big, strong, physical team,” Miller added. “It’s more physical style of play down here; I don’t know the last time we played a team I felt was that solid one through eight.”
Livingston held an early 3-0 lead and didn’t lead again until Rocco Carwile’s corner three-pointer with 7 seconds remaining to give his team a 60-59 advantage. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 9 points (48-39) in the fourth quarter.
“That’s huge; you have to be super proud of the guys,” Miller said. “There were multiple opportunities to roll over in that game and we didn’t. Early last year, the youth would’ve allowed us to do that. We were down 9 but could never break that threshold. I had some veteran guys keep defending and keep getting after it.”
The first half was a game of runs as Soddy Daisy opened the contest with a 10-3 advantage midway through the first quarter.
Livingston dialed up the full-court pressure on defense and answered with a 9-2 run of their own to cut their deficit to 12-11 late in the first quarter.
Soddy Daisy held a narrow 31-28 lead late in the second quarter before a Cole Harris floater with 8 seconds remaining put his team within 1 point at halftime, 31-30.
The Trojans pushed their lead out to 9 points (41-32) in the third quarter before Livingston cut their deficit back to 6 points (45-39) by the end of the quarter.
Soddy Daisy looked poised to close out the victory as they led 48-39 with 7 minutes remaining, but Tucker Miller caught fire behind the arc as two fourth-quarter three-pointers kept his team alive.
Livingston trailed 59-54 with 1 minute remaining before a Coffee three-pointer pulled his team within 2 (59-57) with 50 seconds left. After forcing a turnover on defense, the Wildcats found Carwile alone in the corner with less than 10 seconds remaining as he drained a three-pointer to put his team ahead 60-59.
“We actually wanted to get to the rim and get to the rim and try to get fouled,” coach Miller said. “They were about 6’4″ at every position so we had to try and get around them. Luckily, we were able to find Rocco Carwile off that help side from that drive and he knocked down a huge shot.”
Soddy Daisy had the final possession, but Livingston’s defense held them without a shot attempt as the Wildcats won their opener by a 60-59 margin.
Up next for the Wildcats is a Saturday playday at Clarkrange.
