|
Tuscola holds off Mustangs for 99-88 victory in shootout
Tuscola outlasted Smoky Mountain 99-88 in a run-and-gun shootout Friday at Tuscola.
Dimitri McClarrin and Will Teague scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, for the Mountaineers. Madison Davis and Tim Harper added 17 apiece.
Dillon Dunford had an outstanding performance for the Mustangs with 29 points and 12 assists. Cory Siler pumped in 23 points. Martin Davis netted 13, and Tyson Crawford had 12.
“If we had just played a little better transition defense it would have been different,” Coach Scott Hartbarger said. “We gave up too many easy baskets. It was one of those up-tempo games we like to be in although our zone offense was stagnant at times. When you score 88 points, you would think you would win the basketball game.”
Tuscola held a 15-7 lead on Teague’s basket with 2:45 to go in the first quarter.
The Mustangs ran off nine straight points to take their only lead of the night, 16-15, on a three-point play by Davis with 19.6 seconds on the clock.
Harper’s follow shot allowed the Mounties to lead 17-16 at the quarter break.
Davis’ three-pointer produced a 21-21 tie with 5:54 to go in the half.
Tuscola took the lead for good at 23-21 on two Harper free throws at the 5:35 mark. That started eight straight points, including four by McClarrin, for a 29-21 lead with 5:07 on the clock.
The Mounties were up 41-36 at intermission.
Dunford’s basket cut the gap to 43-42 with 6:48 to play in the third period, but Tuscola countered with a 14-2 run to gain control. Davis had two treys in the spurt, which ended with Teague’s fast break layup for a 57-44 advantage at the 4:53 mark.
The Mounties were up 68-59 entering the fourth quarter.
Dunford had back-to-back baskets narrowing the deficit to 81-77 with 3:14 remaining.
Harper converted a three-point play with 2:42 on the clock, and Tuscola maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way.
Dunford’s points came on 11 field goals, including two three-pointers, and five foul shots. Siler hit 10 field goals and was three of three at the line. Two of Davis’ four field goals were treys, and he made three foul shots, Crawford scored all his points from the floor.
Completing the scoring were Matt Hawkins and Josh Jones with four apiece and C.J. Fortner with three.
“Dillon had a great game,” Hartbarger said. “He also played good defense. Martin played well, and Tyson gave a good effort despite being sick.”
Tuscola rallied for a 42-41 win in the JV game. SM led at quarter breaks by scores of 11-9, 21-16 and 33-32.
David Cheatham scored 18 points for the Mustangs, and Cort Smith had 12.
Five SM players missed the game due to illness.
“We’re just so young,” Coach Jim Hartbarger said. “We haven’t learned how to win yet. They played as hard as they could but having 12 freshmen is like starting all over. I truly believe they’re going to get better every game.”
|
