|
East sends SM into tie for last in WAC
Smoky Mountain’s men’s basketball team fell into a tie for last place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 54-50 loss to East Henderson on Jan. 31 at the SM gym.
Chris Harris led the Eagles with 17 points, Jonathan Johnston added 14, and Christian Diepholz had 11.
Nobody hit double figures for the Mustangs. Tyson Crawford, Cory Siler and Martin Davis all had eight points.
Smoky Mountain’s Josh Jones takes the ball down the lane in last week’s 54-50 loss to East Henderson. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
“It was a very disappointing loss,” Coach Scott Hartbarger said. “Winning this game would have put us in a little better seeding as far as the conference tournament goes.
SM’s lone conference win was over East earlier this season on the road. The Eagles were winless in the WAC entering this game.
“Their zone traps bothered us, but I don’t understand why” Hartbarger said. “Brevard tried to press us, and we were able to handle that. We had 22 turnovers. Sometimes I wish this team would go against opponents as hard as they go against each other in practice.”
SM started quickly by scoring the game’s first six points, including four by Crawford, and held a 16-11 edge at the quarter break.
East took its first lead at 18-16 on a Diepholz follow shot with 3:41 to play in the half.
The Mustangs led 21-20 at intermission after Dayne Bowers made one of two foul shots with 29.2 seconds on the clock.
SM opened the lead to 28-22 when Matt Hawkins scored with 6:16 to play in the third stanza.
The Eagles grabbed a 37-36 edge as the period ended on a follow shot by Harris.
They built the margin to 45-38 on two free throws by Diepholz at the 5:49 mark.
Consecutive three-pointers by Davis and Taylor Gilleland produced a 49-49 tie with 1:26 on the clock.
The Eagles took the lead for good, 51-49, on Michael Robinson’s basket 10 seconds later.
The Mustangs had two chances to draw even but failed to convert. Harris hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Hawkins and Josh Jones both finished with six points, Dillon Dunford followed with five, Rodney McCormick netted four, Gilleland scored three and Bowers had two.
The Mustang JVs won 58-27. Trey Shular scored 16 points followed by Cort Smith with 12 and C.J. Fortner with 10.
SM led at quarter breaks by scores of 15-11, 24-17 and 45-25.
“They’ve learned to pass the ball extremely well,” Coach Jim Hartbarger said. “We’re averaging only five turnovers a game, which is unreal.”
|
