|
Tuscola holds off cold-shooting SM
Horrendous shooting cost Smoky Mountain in a 40-37 Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball loss on Jan. 25 at Tuscola.
Both teams had trouble finding the range all night. Coach Scott Hartbarger said the Mustangs missed 21 shots in the paint.
Jarrett Sorrells scored 12 points for the Mountaineers, and SM's John Salzano had 11.
Smoky Mountain's Cody Maney puts up a shot in last week's 40-37 loss to Tuscola. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
The Mustangs managed just 12 points in the second half. They were limited to three in the third period.
"I felt we had the momentum at halftime," Hartbarger said. "Our shooting was terrible in the second half. We had a chance at the end, but we made a bad pass on the inbounds play."
The Mustangs led 26-16 when Cory Siler made a free throw with 7:11 to go in the third quarter. They did not score again until Salzano's fast break layup at the buzzer.
Meanwhile, Tuscola scored 13 straight points. Demetri McClarrin had the last four of those for a 29-26 edge at the 1:20 mark.
The Mounties led 29-28 entering the fourth quarter and extended the margin to 33-28 on Sorrells' basket with 5:29 on the clock.
The Mustangs stayed close, and Tyson Crawford's two free throws cut the gap to 38-37 with 14.9 seconds left.
They got the ball back, and Salzano was fouled with 2.9 seconds on the clock. Since it was just Tuscola's sixth team foul and Salzano was not ruled to be in the act of shooting, SM got the ball under its own basket. A lob pass into the lane was off the mark, and McClarrin hit two free throws with less than a second left to secure the win.
The Mustangs led most of the first quarter and were up 14-10 at the break after Matt Gibson's three-pointer beat the buzzer.
Siler's follow shot capped a 9-2 spurt for a 23-14 advantage with 51 seconds to go in the half. The margin was 25-16 at intermission.
Salzano made four field goals and three free throws.
Crawford and Deron Fowler both finished with eight points, Gibson followed with five, Siler scored three and Dustin Nicholson had two.
The Mustang JVs won 50-39 as Evan Salzano scored 14 points and hit four three-pointers.
SM led 7-6 after the first quarter, trailed 21-17 at halftime and moved back in front 30-28 entering the fourth period.
"We played much better in the second half," Hartbarger said. "The most exciting thing about these young kids is they are finding ways to win. Evan shot the ball well."
|
