ERWIN – The South Greene boys could not match the hot shooting of Unicoi County on Thursday night and fell 66-47 in District 1-2A action.
The Blue Devils knocked down 11 three-pointers and moved to 6-0 in District 1-2A play while the Rebels fell to 3-3 in league action.
“We played a really good team, and we knew coming in that if they shot it well we would have a hard time,” South Greene coach Terry Hoese said. “The bottom line is we didn’t shoot it well and they did. But we kept fighting and made a run in the fourth quarter, ultimately, we can’t fall that far behind.”
The early plan defensively for the Rebels was to shrink their zone defense and cut off driving lanes for Jackson Simmons, the Blue Devils all-time leading scorer. While Unicoi did not get inside early its first five field goals of the first quarter landed from beyond the arc.
Simmons knocked the first of those down on a second-chance opportunity, and three of the Devils’ first-quarter threes came on offensive rebounds. That was frustrating for Hoese as his team held a noticeable size advantage at all positions.
“I am disappointed we didn’t box out and rebound in the first half,” Hoese said. “They got a few of those early threes by getting the rebound and kicking it out to a shooter. That is what put us behind early. We should be better at that. We are bigger than them at every position, and there is no excuse to get out rebounded. We haven’t been rebound many times at all this year, and when we are the bigger team that’s nothing but effort.”
On the other end the floor Unicoi’s tight defense made it hard for South Greene to get good looks, but it also sent the Rebels to the foul line four times where they kept pace by going 7-for-8. Cayden Fillers was a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe in the first quarter as the Devils threw contact at him every chance they could.
Unicoi closed the period leading 17-11 after Jackson Simmons and Carter Simmons each hit from deep twice.
In the second quarter defense led both teams early, but Unicoi was able to take advantage of a pair of offensive rebounds to score its first four points of the period. A.J. Thomas then came up with a fast-break layup to give the Blue Devils a 23-13 lead.
South Greene could not get shots to fall in the period and managed to put in just five points with Gavin Dyer and Jameson White accounting for one field goal apiece.
Thomas closed the first half with a pair of three-pointers for the Blue Devils as the lead grew to 31-16 at the break.
The outside shots kept falling for Unicoi in the second half with Simmons, Thomas and Cade Peterson all striking from deep as the lead grew to 40-20. The Devils hit 10 three-pointers on Thursday before the Rebels got their first outside shot to fall.
Unicoi County took its biggest lead to that point at 43-22 when Simmons slashed through the lane and scored three points the hard way.
South Greene followed with Charlie Lane dumping a pass to Fillers on the block. Fillers then stole possession which set up Lane for a jumper from the wing.
In the closing portion of the period Will Arrowood nailed a triple, and Fillers sank a turnaround jumper as the Rebels deficit narrowed to 49-31.
At the start of the fourth quarter the Rebels found a new energy, but ultimately it proved to be too little too late. South Greene scored the first seven points of the period with Dyer knocking down a step-back triple and Fillers putting back a miss.
Just two minutes into the quarter Dyer hit from deep again to get South Greene within 10 points at 51-41.
The Rebels never got any closer as the Devils went on a 13-0 run before finishing with a 66-47 win.
Simmons had the big day for Unicoi County as he poured in 33 points and Thomas finished with 14 points.
Fillers led South Greene with 16 points and Dyer scored 11 points.
South Greene will have little time to reflect on the loss, as their contest with West Greene on Tuesday will be key for district positioning. The Rebels are now 3-3 in league play, West Greene is 4-2 and Chuckey-Doak is 3-3.
“(Unicoi) is a good team and I don’t know that anybody in this league is going to beat them,” Hoese said. “I thought we would give them a better shot tonight. I would have liked to have knocked off the top team tonight, and maybe had a tiebreaker edge at the end of the year. But Tuesday night is a huge game for us, and we have to come back ready for that.”
GIRLS
Unicoi County 61, South Greene 32
The South Greene girls could not get shots to fall or get stops on the defensive end, and as a result took its first loss in District 1-2A play, 61-32 at Unicoi County.
It took almost four minutes for the Lady Rebels to score their first points, but to that point the defense was good enough to keep the game tied at 2-2.
With 3:02 left in the opening frame Ari Hoese landed a floater that kept the Lady Rebels within two points at 7-5, but over the next two minutes Unicoi scored eight points to go in front 15-5.
Missed shots and turnovers again plagued South Greene in the second quarter, and it took the Lady Rebels more than five minutes to sink their first field goal of the quarter.
South Greene did enough on defense to keep the lead from getting away through most of the period, and when Paisley Brobeck sank a jumper from the top of the key Unicoi’s lead was down to 24-12.
Then in a 46 second stretch Kaley Toney and Danika Hendricks each hit from behind the arc and Brookyln Sparks scored on a fast break layup for a 32-12 lead. The Lady Devils went to halftime leading 35-15.
That lead grew in the third quarter as Emma Grace Andes nailed two triples while Toney and Hendrick each hit from deep once.
For South Greene Kortnei Bailey got inside for four points and Reagan Arrowood ended the period with a triple, but the Lady Blue Devils led 57-27.
In the fourth quarter both benches emptied, but not much about the margin changed as Unicoi pulled off the 61-32 win.
Sparks led Unicoi County on Thursday with 20 points and Andes finished with 13.
Hoese scored nine points to lead South Greene.
