The Tennessee High boys basketball team won a share of the Upper Lakes Conference title and clinched the District 1-3A tournament’s No. 1 seed with a 63-57 defeat of Volunteer on Tuesday night at Viking Hall.
Brandon Dufore scored 23 points and fellow senior Creed Musick added 17 as the Vikings won their first conference championship since Derrick Hord’s senior season (1978-79).
The Vikings (6-2, 23-6) were picked to finish third behind Unicoi County (first) and Volunteer (3-5, 17-10), which ended up finishing fourth after the loss at Tennessee High.
Unicoi County (6-2, 21-7) secured the No. 2 seed with a 62-50 win at Sullivan East (4-4, 14-13), which will be the third seed.
“You get picked third and our guys had a chip on their shoulder,” said Tennessee High coach Michael McMeans, whose Vikings swept Unicoi County during the regular season. “And that’s what you’d expect from competitors like that. So it makes you feel good to win this part of it. But I told them every step you go, it just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. …
People are also reading…
“Volunteer is capable of playing in the substate (sectional) game later on. They’re a tough matchup for us.”
Falcons wings Joltin Harrison and Andrew Knittel scored 22 and 15 points, respectively. Knittel made 1 of 2 free throws after his steal got him to the foul line to get the Falcons within 57-55 with a minute left.
Dufore made a pair of free throws for a 59-55 lead with 57 seconds left, and after the Falcons missed two good looks at 3-pointers, Riley Gentry’s two foul shots stretched the lead to 61-55 with 34 seconds to go.
Point guard Bradin Minton’s pull-up cut the Vikings’ lead to 61-57 with 21.2 seconds left, but Musick’s free throws with 18 seconds to go concluded the scoring.
“They weren’t going to quit,” McMeans said. “They’ve got players that’ve started for four years now. I’m proud of our guys for hanging in there.”
Tennessee High will open district tournament play next weekend against the Volunteer-Elizabethton winner.
GIRLS
Tennessee High 46, Volunteer 34
The Tennessee High girls secured the District 1-3A tournament’s No. 2 seed by avenging a 60-38 loss at Volunteer on Jan. 20.
Lead guard Kendall Cross scored 19 points and wing Anna Kate Kinch added 12 as the Vikings finished 4-4 in the league while improving to 14-14 overall.
“They knew what was at stake, and they came out ready to play,” Tennessee High coach Amanda Vance said. “I think the best part about tonight was their defense. Macie (Strouth), Janell (Tabor), Keeley (Canter) – they locked in and played amazing defense. We played amazing defense on their posts. I couldn’t ask for better defense.
“And Keeyanah (Foote) did a good job pressuring the point guard (Kendra Huff). The last game their point guard played very well and we knew we had to kind of contain her a little bit.”
Kinch hit both of her 3-pointers in the first quarter and Cross scored five points while helping the Vikings jump out to a 14-6 lead.
“Kendall played lights-out and Anna Kate hit some big shots,” Vance said.
Tennessee High led 27-16 at halftime and 37-17 at the end of the third quarter after holding the Falcons to one point during the period.
“It was really rough the first game,” said Cross, who finished with eight assists, four steals and two blocks. “We didn’t come out ready to play – nothing like this game. We were all locked in this game. We needed this one.”
Foote also had four steals for the Vikings. Tabor had two blocks.
Tennessee High’s boys and girls teams will host Cherokee on Friday.
