Huskies Use Winning Formula To Capture Region Championship

BLOUNTVILLE – The North Greene boys basketball team has found a winning formula this season, and on Thursday night they executed it one more time on the way to taking down Cosby 45-39 in the Region 1-1A Championship Game.

“We know who we are and what we have to do. We lost a 3,000-point scorer from last year, and then at the start of the year we lose a 20 point a game scorer. We can’t replace those points, so we have to muck the game up,” North Greene coach Sam Tarlton said. “We have our four things that we have to do every game to win. We try to rebound the basketball at 40 percent on the offensive glass and 80 percent on the defensive glass. We want 12 or fewer turnovers, 10 or more free throws, and to hold the opponent under 50 points. If we do those four things I feel like we will win every time, and so far we’ve done a pretty good job of it.”

Defense led the way for the Huskies as they made the Eagles earn every bucket, and in the late stages the offense made the shots North Greene needed most.

“We had to muck it up, but that’s what we have done all year,” Tarlton said. “We played really, really good on defense, and we were about as bad as you can be offensively. But they made it tough on us. We have to drag other teams down into the mud and make enough plays in the end to win. It took toughness.”

Because of Thursday’s win North Greene will play at home one more time this season. The Huskies will host Oliver Springs on Monday in the Class 1A State Sectionals with a chance to return to the state tournament on the line. Oliver Springs fell to Harriman 61-59 on Thursday in the Region 2-1A Championship Game.

“We’ve played this game both at home and on the road, and it’s definitely more fun at home,” Tarlton said. “I’m just proud of this team for getting to this stage. We’ll find out who we’re playing, get a game plan together and hope everyone comes out to support us,” Tarlton said.

Thursday’s first half was a low-scoring affair and Cosby took a 17-15 lead into the break.

The Huskies picked up the pace in the third quarter and 1:31 into the second half North Greene went in front 20-19 when Lawson Davenport came around a screen set by Lance Carrico and knocked down a three-pointer.

After a stop on defense Carrico slipped a pass across the lane to Tyler Britton for a layup.

Cosby closed the gap to 25-24 when Haiden McMahan knocked down a three-pointer from the corner, and with 3:38 left in the third quarter the Eagles took a 26-25 lead when Cooper Davis got to the block for a lay in.

North Greene went to the fourth quarter trailing 28-27.

The Huskies went on top with 5:27 left to play when Isaac Gaby launched from deep in the left corner, and after the ball took a trio of bounces off the iron it fell through to make the score 34-32. A missed assignment on defense did not lead to Cosby points, but it caused Tarlton to call a timeout in frustration. Out of the break Carrico knocked down straight away trey to push North Greene’s advantage to 37-32.

North Greene made it a three-possession game for the first time with 3:28 left when Lawson Davenport got a runner to land.

That cushion did not last long and with 1:39 left a loose ball scramble left Ezra Spurgeon under the rim unguarded and he cut the Huskies’ lead down to 41-39.

As North Greene tried to slow the game down the Eagles had their chances but a tough rebound Jaiden Bailey ripped a tying opportunity away from Cosby. Over the final 41 seconds North Greene made four free throws while giving up no good looks on defense on the way to the 45-39 win.

Thursday’s action started with North Greene jumping in front 7-3 after Thomas Darnell knocked down a pair of short jumpers.

The Eagles answered with a three-pointer from McMahan and an old-fashioned-three-point play from Spurgeon. The first quarter closed with Cosby leading 11-9.

North Greene started the second quarter with three-pointers from Carrico and Devenport to swing in front 15-11. The Huskies were held scoreless for the final 6:27 of the first half, but because of its defense North Greene stayed within striking distance and only trailed by two points at halftime.

Davenport led North Greene with 15 points on Thursday and earned Region 1-1A Tournament MVP honors. Carrico scored 11 points and Darnell put in nine points.

“I’m super proud of Lawson Davenport,” Tarlton said. “He’s grown so much as a player, as much as anyone I’ve ever coached. I keep using that toughness word, but to shoot as bad at the end of games last year and to turn around and shoot as good at end of games as he has this year is a testament to how hard-nosed he is. I’m super proud of him.”

For Cosby Spurgeon scored 15 points and McMahan had 10.