West Greene hosted Unicoi County on Tuesday evening at Jimmy Jones Gymnasium for an early-season conference showdown, with first place in the standings on the line.
The visiting Blue Devils capitalized on early Buffalo turnovers and a cold first-half shooting performance by West Greene as they never trailed in the contest on the way to a 61–39 victory.
Although Unicoi County struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 4-for-22, the Blue Devils made up for it with an effective transition game and strong second-chance opportunities, finishing 24-for-53 from the field. West Greene shot 7-for-19 in the first half and ended the night 17-for-45 overall.
Senior Jackson Simmons set the tone early, scoring the first basket of the game at the 6:35 mark. The bucket not only gave Unicoi County a lead it would not relinquish but also pushed Simmons past Trevor Hensley as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Simmons finished with a game-high 21 points and now sits at 2,398 career points, surpassing Hensley’s previous mark of 2,378.
The Blue Devils raced out to a 10–0 lead before Tytus Shelton put West Greene on the board with 4:07 remaining in the opening quarter. Shelton scored the Buffaloes’ next four points as they closed the period strong, trimming the deficit to 14–9.
Ayden Lamons, who was honored before the game for surpassing the 500-career rebound mark, opened the second quarter with a basket to pull West Greene within three at 14–11, but that would be as close as the Buffaloes would get. Behind nine second-quarter points from AJ Thomas, Unicoi County closed the half on a 21–4 run to take a commanding 35–15 lead into the locker room. Thomas finished with 11 points, the only other Blue Devil to score in double figures.
West Greene continued to battle in the second half and outscored Unicoi County 15–12 in the third quarter. Freshman Josiah Dawson led the Buffaloes with 14 points, scoring 12 after halftime. Shelton also finished in double figures with 12.
Both teams return to conference action Friday night, with West Greene traveling to Johnson County and Unicoi County hosting Happy Valley.
Unicoi County (61): 14-21-12-14 (J. Simmons 21, Thomas 11, Peterson 8, B. Simmons 8, C. Simmons 4, Jekins 3, Evely 2, Hatcher 2, Laningham 2)
West Greene (39): 9-6-15-9 (Dawson 14, Shelton 12, Lamons 6, Stills 5, Heck 2)
