The North Greene boys used a strong third quarter to pull out a 62-53 win over Unaka at home on Friday night while staying perfect in District 1-1A play.
“They’re a good team. They came out and did some stuff that we hadn’t seen on film and we kind of just stared at it. But we have to be aggressive,” North Greene Head Coach Sam Tarlton said. “I thought we were good on defense in that second half. We want to hold every team under 50, we still kept them to only 53, I was proud of them because even though they didn’t start fast they settled in and were able to do just enough to get a conference win.”
They knew Friday night’s matchup was no easy task. The Rangers took it at them in the early stages and held a slim lead after the first quarter. The Huskies regained the lead going into the half and surged ahead in the third to capitalize on their opportunity.
Lance Carrico was money from the field and scored a game-high 23 points in only three quarters. Three other Huskies entered double figures with Tyler Britton scoring 14 and Lawson Davenport and Thomas Darnell each added 11.
The Huskies improved to 17-4 overall and 3-0 against District 1-2A opponents halfway through the conference schedule.
“It’s a great start, but I told them the other day it’s a great start, but we haven’t done anything yet. We haven’t won our league or done anything in the postseason. We don’t want to worry about peaking. It’s good to win and good to play well, but we’ve got a lot of things we need to work on to reach our peak,” Coach Tarlton explained.
Unaka’s TJ Good scored 12 points and managed to score 10 of those in the first quarter to lift the Rangers ahead 15-10 after eight minutes.
In the second quarter it was Lance Carrico’s chance to shine. He splashed four three-point buckets and willed his team from behind. Lawson Davenport delivered six points in the second to coincide with Tyler Britton’s triple.
North Greene was able to regain a 32-30 lead at the break.
A layup from Lance Carrico began the second half and was followed by a John Hardin three-pointer. Aiden Walsh scored a layup next to help Unaka score five-straight. Davenport nailed a three before Hardin made another layup.
With the score sitting at 30-37, the Huskies ended the third quarter on a 12-0 run to strengthen their lead. Carrico stripped the net for another three-pointer and Davenport notched a layup. Tyler Britton scored five-straight with a mid-range and triple combo. Thomas Darnell managed to land a putback off the glass before the quarter ended.
North Greene held a 51-37 advantage after three.
Although he didn’t score any points, Coach Tarlton bragged on Yeshua Vaught for the way he was able to impact the game without scoring or having the ball in his hands. “Yeshua changed the whole game with his energy and defense in the second half. That’s such a valuable thing. He was the MVP of our team tonight because of his energy and effort on defense tonight it changed the whole game,” Tarlton stated.
The Rangers managed to win the fourth quarter, but the margin was too big to overcome for them. Hardin began the final frame with a three-pointer and Mason Wilson joined him with a long ball not too long after. Thomas Darnell helped North Greene stay in front with two big layups in the paint. Hardin sank another three-point bucket, but Jaiden Bailey cancelled it out with a late three to preserve North Greene’s win.
The Huskies downed the Rangers 62-53 in the end. Lance Carrico led all scorers with 23 points. Tyler Britton scored 14 while Lawson Davenport and Thomas Darnell each added 11. John Hardin led Unaka with 17.
North Greene returns to action on Tuesday night in Rogersville for a road game with Cherokee. Their next conference game will be Friday night at home versus University High.
