ERWIN, Tenn. – Some 24 hours after Drake Fisher’s buzzer-beater lifted Sullivan East to a District 1-3A tournament victory, the Patriots were dealt a buzzer-beating heartbreaker by Colby Lamb and Tennessee High.
Lamb received a pass from Reed Miller near the right block and quickly banked in a layup as the buzzer sounded to give the top-seeded Vikings a 59-57 semifinal victory Saturday night at Unicoi County.
Tennessee High (16-14) will play second-seeded David Crockett (23-6) in the championship Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers outlasted shorthanded Unicoi County, 51-43, in the nightcap.
The Blue Devils (22-11) will play Sullivan East (15-15) in the third-place game at 6 p.m.
The third-seeded Tennessee High girls lost 62-37 to second-seeded Elizabethton. The Vikings (17-13) will play Unicoi County (18-15) in the third-place game at 6 p.m. on Monday.
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The Blue Devils lost 55-42 to top-seeded David Crockett (24-4), which will play Elizabethton (13-15) in the championship on Monday night at 7:30.
Sullivan East’s Fisher appeared to have saved the day for the second straight game. He made an off-balance 7-footer in the lane to tie the score, 57-57, with eight seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Tennessee High point guard Colin Brown received the inbounds pass and advanced to near midcourt, where he was trapped and passed to Miller near the foul line.
Time was vanishing quickly as the ball headed toward Miller, who quickly caught and released the ball with a bounce-pass to Lamb.
“When Colin got trapped and passed it to Reed, I was definitely stressed about the time,” Lamb said. “It felt like a movie in slow motion. The ball movement was clean and you could feel the trust in each other as we passed it down the floor.
“Hitting the shot, I was in disbelief. A rush of excitement came over me as it started settling in that we had just beaten our rival. It will be something I never forget.”
Tennessee High coach Michael McMeans hoped Brown could get in space and make a hard-driving play at the end. But he anticipated the trap and the Vikings executed Plan B perfectly.
“I figured why wouldn’t you come at Colin and keep him from getting the last shot,” McMeans said. “We wanted Reed to flash and we needed a layup guy, and Colby’s kind of been that guy for us. Reed flashed and just turned around and made the right play. …
“Great win. They had a really good team last year and they brought everybody back. They’re tough and physical. Fisher’s a matchup problem at point guard because he’s so big at point guard.”
Lamb and Zander Phillips scored 12 points apiece for the Vikings. Ten of Lamb’s came in the final 5:55. Lamb’s only blemish was missing two free throws with 21.3 seconds remaining that could’ve extended the lead to 59-55.
“Colby had a bunch there late,” McMeans said. “He hit a big free throw line jumper. The good thing about him is he comes in apologizing for missing two free throws that would’ve sealed the deal.”
Phillips hit four of the Vikings’ seven 3-pointers. Sophomore point guard Braden Howard scored nine of his 11 points in the first half.
“They were trying to faceguard Colin there in the first half and Braden just kind of took it over a little bit,” McMeans said. “I think that’s a preview of what he’s gonna be in the future.”
Neither is Fisher. The shot he made to tie the score was a difficult off-balance shot that he had to bank from straight on because he was falling back and couldn’t get leap.
“I think he thought about passing it for a moment,” East coach Dillon Faver said. “And he was like, ‘Well, I’m falling backwards. I’ve gotta get it up.’ And he banked that thing in and put us in a position to win the game.
“I’m proud of the guys. They played great. Tennessee High played great, too. Both teams played hard.”
East, which was without forward Zach Johnson (illness), got 19 points from Fisher. Wing Tyler Cross (11) and post Corbin Laisure (10) also scored in double figures for the Patriots.
The Vikings and David Crockett were co-champions of the Upper Lakes Conference after splitting their matchups.
“It’s gonna be a dogfight,” David Crockett coach Cody Connell said. “I mean, both games we’ve played have been really close down to the end.”
SULLIVAN EAST (57)
Hurley 0 0-0 0, Lowe 3 0-0 8, Donahue 3 0-0 6, Ridlehuber 1 0-0 3, Tyler Cross 5 1-2 11, Drake Fisher 8 2-4 19, Corbin Laisure 5 0-0 10. Totals 25 3-6 57
TENNESSEE HIGH (59)
Braden Howard 5 0-0 11, Brown 3 3-7 9, Zander Phillips 4 0-0 12, Colby Lamb 5 2-4 12, Graham 1 0-0 2, Singleton 2 0-0 5, Miller 3 1-2 8. Totals 23 6-13 59
Sullivan East 17 11 10 19 -- 57
Tennessee High 19 15 12 13 -- 59
3-point goals—East 4 (Lowe 2, Ridlehuber 1, Fisher 1), Tennessee High 7 (Phillips 4, Singleton, Miller 1, Howard 1)
David Crockett 51, Unicoi County 43
Crockett methodically subdued stubborn Unicoi County. The Blue Devils lost second-leading scorer Kolby Jones for the remainder of the season when he fractured the wrist on his shooting hand in a win at Mitchell (North Carolina) on Monday, but they didn’t lose their spirit.
Unicoi County cut a 13-point lead to 40-34 on freshman Kaden Cutlip’s 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining, but Drake Shingledecker answered with a driving basket that started a 5-0 spurt to essentially seal it with 1:31 left.
Colin Beason, who led Crockett with 13 points, finished a behind-the-back drive with a backward lay-in despite getting fouled to give the Pioneers a 44-34 lead with 1:48 to go.
Bradley Gouge and Drake Shingledecker scored 11 apiece for Crockett.
Sophomore point guard Jackson Simmons led Unicoi County with 16 points.
UNICOI COUNTY (43)
Ka. Cutlip 2 0-0 6, Ko. Cutlip 4 1-4 9, Hensley 1 0-0 2, Rodriguez 3 0-0 6, Sellars 2 0-0 4, Jackson Simmons 7 2-5 16, C. Simmons 0 0-0 0, B. Simmons 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 3-9 43
DAVID CROCKETT (51)
McGuire 1 2-3 4, Hensley 1 0-0 3, Bradley Gouge 3 4-8 11, Drake Shingledecker 3 5-6 11, Colin Beason 6 1-6 13, Fox 1 0-0 2, Cash 2 3-4 7. Totals 17 15-27 51
Unicoi County 6 6 12 19 -- 43
David Crockett 12 9 16 14 -- 51
3-point goals—Unicoi County 2 (Ka. Cutlip 2), Crockett 2 (B. Gouge 1, Hensley 1)
GIRLS
Elizabethton 62, Tennessee High 37
Elizabethton’s girls jumped out to a 28-9 lead against Tennessee High and led by as many as 22 in the first half. The outcome wasn’t in doubt for three quarters.
Elizabethton got 18 points from Marlee Mathena, 13 from Reiley Whitson and 11 apiece from Michelle Shields and Jamira Smalls.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Elizabethton coach Lucas Andrews said. “I think about six months ago nobody was really putting us in the district championship game – just with injuries, graduation, youth. We’ve not played since Science Hill two Monday’s ago. So we’ve been off almost two weeks and you never know how your kids are gonna react to that.”
The Vikings were led by freshman guard Addie Wilhoit’s 15 points.
“She’s an outstanding player,” Andrews said. “She can score in both directions. She can score at every level. It’s just one of those things where you’re never gonna stop her, but you’ve gotta slow her down somehow.”
TENNESSEE HIGH (37)
Carter 0 0-0 0, Addie Wilhoit 5 5-5 15, Foote 1 1-3 3, Moore 2 2-2 7, Kinch 1 1-3 3, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Wolfenbarger 2 1-2 5, Tabor 2 0-0 4, Jones 0 0-0 0, Canter 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 10-15 37
ELIZABETHTON (62)
Michelle Shields 3 4-4 11, McGee 3 0-0 8, May 0 0-0 0, Nave 0 1-4 1, Marlee Mathena 6 4-4 18, Reiley Whitson 5 0-0 13, Jamira Smalls 4 3-4 11. Totals 21 12-16 62
Tennessee High 9 7 14 7 -- 37
Elizabethton 23 14 14 11 -- 62
3-point goals—Tennessee High 1 (Moore 1), Elizabethton 8 (Whitson 3, Mathena 2, McGee 2, Shields 1)
David Crockett 55, Unicoi County 42
The David Crockett girls were led by sophomores Laney Britton and Aaliyah Story’s respective 17- and 15-point performances. Bella Ferguson hit four 3-pointers en route to a 12-point night.
Allie Lingerfelt scored 20 points for Unicoi County, which got 11 points from point guard Haley Rush.
UNICOI COUNTY (42)
Farnor 2 0-0 4, Haley Rush 3 2-2 11, Toney 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Rogers 1 0-0 2, Allie Lingerfelt 7 3-3 20, Vidrio 0 0-0 0, Bennett 1 3-4 5. Totals 14 8-9 42
DAVID CROCKETT (55)
Doner 0 1-2 1, Ferguson 4 0-0 12, Laney Britton 6 4-5 17, Tullock 3 2-2 8, Byrd 1 0-0 2, Story 5 5-6 15. Totals 19 12-15 55
Unicoi County 9 12 13 8 -- 42
David Crockett 16 7 17 15 -- 55
3-point goals—Unicoi County 6 (Lingerfelt 3, Rush 3), Crockett 5 (Ferguson 4, Britton 1)