2022 Claiborne County Varsity Basketball Tournament Championship Night

The championship night of the 2022 Claiborne County Middle School Varsity Basketball Tournament was held at Cumberland Gap High School, December 15, with four games scheduled for the evening.

The first game of the evening was between the girls of Powell Valley and Forge Ridge in the consolation game. Both teams were struggling to get going early but Forge Ridge got to the free throw line and were able to convert both shots to take a 2-0 lead 2:28 left in the opening quarter. Forge Ridge got another shot to fall before and then knocked down a three during the quarter and had a 7-0 lead over Powell Valley at the end of the first quarter. Powell Valley finally got some clean looks at the basket and one of them dropped in. That basket got the Lady Indians in a groove, and they dropped a few more shots but Forge Ridge was able to match them shot for shot. The first half ended with Forge Ridge holding a 14-6 lead over Powell Valley. Forge Ridge kept Powell Valley off the scoreboard during the third quarter with an aggressive defensive presence and led 20-6 as the teams headed to the fourth quarter. Forge Ridge was able to close things out and take a 26-10 victory over Powell Valley. Forge Ridge was led in scoring by Macy England with 10 points. Also scoring for the Lady Dragons was Maybree Collingsworth with five, Briley Colinger and A’Zailiah Petty each had four, Brinley Pendleton had two and Emma Bussell scored one. Powell Valley was led by Megan Weaver with five, Savannah Medley with three and Cabella Duverney scored two.

The Matt Compton State Farm Players of the Game were Macy England for the Lady Dragons and Megan Weaver for Powell Valley. Congratulations Macy and Megan!

Girls Fourth Place

Girls Third Place

The next consolation matchup was between the boys of Springdale and Powell Valley. Springdale took the opening tip and quickly scored but Powell Valley answered by converting two free throws. Springdale got two quick scores inside, but Powell Valley answered with a deep three-point shot. Springdale got another score inside the paint, but Powell Valley again had the answer. The score was 10-7 in favor of Springdale with 1:56 remaining in the opening period. The Owls got another fast break basket, but Powell Valley again got one of their shots to fall. Springdale had a 13-9 lead over Powell Valley at the end of the first quarter. The teams traded baskets to start the second quarter, but Springdale then got a corner three to fall which started a five-point run for the Owls. Powell Valley hit a corner three to get back into a groove. The score stood at 20-14 in favor of Springdale with 2:54 left in the first half. Springdale went on an eight-point run to end the quarter and led Powell Valley 28-14 as the first half ended. Both teams battled hard to start the third quarter, but it seemed that Springdale had the answer for each basket that Powell Valley got to fall. The score stood at 33-22 in favor of Springdale with 2:59 left in the third quarter. Neither team could get many good looks the remainder of the quarter and the score was 35-23 in favor of Springdale as the teams entered the fourth quarter. Powell Valleys’ shots kept falling during the final quarter, but Springdale still seemed to be able to match each one of them. Springdale went on to beat Powell Valley by a score of 48-37. Leading Springdale in scoring was Owen Medlin with 23 points. Also scoring for the Owls was Owen Stone with 10, Chase Robinette and Will Compton had six each and Blake Gilbert finished with three. Powell Valley was led by Braden Lane with 18. Also scoring for the Indians was Luke Lloyd with 10, Korbin Goins and Colby Weaver with four each and Hunter Ellison scored one.

The Matt Compton State Farm Players of the Game were Owen Medlin for Springdale and Braden Lane for Powell Valley. Congratulations Owen and Braden!

Boys Fourth Place

Boys Third Place

The first championship matchup of the night was between the girls of H.Y. Livesay and SMMS. Livesay was able to get the first basket of the game, but SMMS found an answer with a fast break layup. Livesay reeled off four straight forcing SMMS to call a timeout and regroup. The score stood at 6-2 in favor of Livesay with 3:39 left in the opening period. SMMS turned up the defensive pressure out of the timeout and turned two defensive rebounds into fast break layups. SMMS then tied the game on the first of two free throws and took the lead over Livesay. SMMS forced another turnover in Livesay’s backcourt and were able to get another basket inside to fall. SMMS led Livesay 10-7 after the first quarter. Livesay opened the second quarter with a basket inside the paint to come within one point of SMMS, but SMMS stepped to the line and hit one of two free throws. Livesay tied the game back at 11 with a tough shot in the paint with 3:36 left in the first half. Livesay made another tough shot inside to retake the lead at 13-11. Both teams got several looks the rest of the half, but nothing would fall and Livesay held a 13-11 lead over SMMS as the first half ended. After the break, the Lady Blue Devils tied the game back at 13 after a shot inside the paint and then on their next trip down the court got fouled and went to the line for two shots. SMMS was able to convert one of those free throws and regained the lead at 14-13 with 3:33 left in the third quarter. Livesay got a floater in the lane to fall to take the lead back, but SMMS tied things back up at 15 from the free throw line. SMMS got out on another fast break and got the shot to fall to go back up 17-15 over Livesay with 1:11 left in the third quarter. Livesay answered with an offensive rebound and put back to tie the game at 17. Livesay stepped to the line and hit one of two free throws and regained the lead over SMMS at 18-17 as the third quarter came to a close. Livesay got the first basket of the fourth quarter and following two missed free throws by SMMS got another deep two point shot to fall. SMMS answered with another fast break shot and drew the foul, but the free throw didn’t find its way home. The score stood at 22-19 in favor of Livesay with 3:32 left in the game. Livesay hit a three-point shot out of the timeout and then hit one of two free throws on their next possession to hold a 26-19 lead over SMMS with 2:09 left in the game. SMMS stepped to the line and hit two free throws and the score was then 26-21 in favor of Livesay. Livesay was able to roll on and take the championship over SMMS by a score of 31-21. Leading H.Y. Livesay in scoring was Izzy Helton with 11 points and Abby Peters with 10. Also scoring for the Lady Eagles was Kelly Hatfield with four and Karlie Johnson and Allie Owens with three each. Leading SMMS in scoring was Emma Ferguson with a game high 16 points and Jalynn Brooks with five.

The Matt Compton State Farm Players of the Game were Izzy Helton for Livesay and Emma Ferguson for the Lady Blue Devils. Congratulations Izzy and Emma!

Girls Second Place

Girls Champions

The final game of the night was a boy championship matchup between Forge Ridge and H.Y. Livesay. Things started slowly as both teams were feeling each other out. Livesay struck first with a fast break layup and then after stopping Forge Ridge connected on a corner three to lead 5-0. Forge Ridge answered with a shot of their own, but Livesay reeled off four more points. Forge Ridge was able to get to the free throw line and hit one of two which made the score 9-3 in favor of Livesay after the first quarter. Forge Ridge was the first to score during the second quarter, but Livesay answered back inside to make the score 11-5 with 4:01 left in the first half. Livesay then knocked down a three that forced Forge Ridge to call a timeout and regroup. Livesay turned it on from that point and ended the first half on a 12-point run to hold a 23-5 lead over Forge Ridge at halftime. Forge Ridge finally got shots to start falling during the third quarter, but Livesay kept matching each one of those shots. Livesay still held onto a 36-14 lead over Forge Ridge at the end of the third quarter. Livesay ended up taking the championship over Forge Ridge by a score of 46-18. Leading the Eagles with another great performance was Brady Harris with 18 points. Neil Bunch had seven, Koalton Cupp and Kole carter both had six, Eli Reed had three and three other Eagles had two points each: Preston Zachary, Keaton Clawson and Jacob Tinnel. Gabriel Daniels led the Dragons with 12, Gavin Barton had four and Holden Surber had two.

The Matt Compton State Farm Players of the Game were Brady Harris for H.Y. and Gabriel Daniels for Forge Ridge. Congratulations Brady and Gabriel!