ROGERSVILLE – The Teepee was on fire on Tuesday night. And, no, not literally. But everyone in Rogersville was treated to a classic. Cherokee outlasted Greeneville in overtime and claimed a 66-62 win to outright win their first regular season championship since 1995.
Cherokee led for most of the game until Greeneville fought their way from behind and stole the lead away. The Chiefs trailed by six with three minutes left and went on a 9-0 run to lead by three. Zy Neal’s miraculous three-point buzzer beater sent the game to overtime. Cherokee took advantage of their opportunities in overtime and prevailed on their Senior Night.
“Early on we weren’t really together and struggled to move the ball. I feel like that happened in the first quarter and we never got going,” Greeneville Head Coach Brad Woolsey expressed.
Greeneville’s 15-game winning streak against Cherokee was snapped in Tuesday night’s defeat. It is Cherokee’s first win over Greeneville in Rogersville since November 20, 2014. With Grainger’s win over Volunteer and Cherokee’s win over Greeneville, the Chiefs claim the regular season crown in District 2-3A.
Greeneville’s loss puts them at 5-19 (2-3).
Four Greene Devils scored in double figures. Yordan Mills led Greeneville with 15 points. Taren Claridy scored 14, Zy Neal delivered 13, and Parker Quillen had 12. Elijah Carmack was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points. Landon Jeffers scored 13 and Isaiah Jones had 10.
Landon Jeffers started out with a three-pointer for Cherokee. Taren Claridy sank his own triple from behind the arc and tied it, 3-3. Elijah Carmack delivered a huge five-point swing early and helped Cherokee lead 10-3 halfway through the first. Zy Neal pulled up with a hand in his face and knocked down a triple to end the run. Neal pulled Greeneville within two with a pair of free throws and an easy layup off the glass.
The quarter ended with Greeneville trailing 14-12.
Isaiah Jones and Elijah Carmack started the second with two-point baskets and extended the lead to twelve. Parker Quillen halted a Cherokee run with a layup. Braxton Markham created a seven-point lead with a three and Isaiah Jones scored a second-chance layup and Cherokee led 23-14. Yordan Mills ended a long scoring drought with a layup.
Cherokee led 24-16 heading into the half.
Landon Jeffers led off with the first two of the second half just like he did in the first. The Chiefs controlled the third and countered every time Greeneville attacked.
A major turning point was with 3:46 left in the third when Taren Claridy stole it and hammered home a thunderous dunk to cut it to five. Parker Quillen followed with a layup and Cherokee called a timeout leading 29-26 with 3:19 left in the third. Claridy defined the term “clutch athlete” with a huge alley-oop layup on a long lob to tie it at 32-32. Yordan Mills gave Greeneville their first lead with a pair of free throws. Braylen Kidwell added to the lead with a soft floater.
Greeneville led 36-32 entering the fourth quarter.
“I thought they came out in the second half and really did a good job down the stretch and really put ourselves in a position to win,” Coach Woolsey explained.
Parker Quillen added to the lead with a layup to begin the final eight minutes. Elijah Carmack landed a big stepback three to cut it to a three-point game. Taren Claridy and Branson Mowell traded three-point shots within seconds of one another to keep the margin at three. Mowell drove baseline and landed a floater to cut it to one, but Claridy’s tip in moved it back to three.
Yordan Mills provided a huge basket with 3:36 left. A lay in rolled off the rim and through and a free throw added on resulted in a big three-point play. The score was 50-44. After a pair of free throws from Carmack, Mills scored another basket off the glass to keep it at six. Isaiah Jones rose up from the block and laid a soft shot off the glass to cut it to four at 52-48.
The tide turned greatly in the last two minutes as Carmack scored again and Landon Jeffers scored a layup in transition with a foul added on. The free throw went through and Cherokee’s 7-0 run saw them lead 53-52 with exactly one minute remaining.
An unfortunate turnover committed by Greeneville resulted in a two-point swing with Carmack knocking down two free throws. Cherokee led 55-52 after the run extended to 9-0.
Greeneville called a timeout to set up a play. The Devils inbounded it with 24.2 seconds left and couldn’t find a shot and called another timeout with 8.7 left. The ball was knocked away with 3.9 left and Greeneville retained possession and called one last timeout to set up a shot.
The inbounds pass was tipped and lobbed up in the air. Taren Claridy and Zy Neal both went for it and Neal came down with it. Neal put up a three as time expired and watched it roll around the cylinder and tap off the glass and fall in for a game-tying triple at the buzzer.
“He did a good job getting to it and just getting something off and that’s what you got to do in that situation. He did a great job to give us more breath and more opportunity,” Woolsey stated.
Regulation ended with both teams tied 55-55.
Cherokee went back on the attack and took control in the overtime period with Carmack driving baseline for two to open it up. Neal kept the hot hand going and nailed a three to give Greeneville a 58-57 advantage. Carmack sank a fair of foul shots next to signal a lead chance before Braylen Kidwell was left open for a layup down low. Parker Quillen scored the same way next and Greeneville looked to be in control with a 62-59 lead.
But like overtime, a 7-0 run by Cherokee changed everything. Isaiah Jones made a layup to cut it to one and Carmack’s pair of free throws have Cherokee a 63-62 lead. A missed shot by Greeneville forced them to foul with under a minute remaining and the door was left open as Isaiah Jones went 1-for-2 from the line. Cherokee led 64-62 with 30.8 seconds left after the miss and Greeneville let nearly 20 seconds run off before calling a timeout with 11.2 left. Greeneville’s game-tying attempt after the timeout was missed and out of bounds off the Greene Devils with 6.9 left. Carmack was clutch and sank both shots from the foul line and ended it.
Cherokee prevailed over Greeneville and won 66-62 in overtime.
Four Greene Devils scored in double figures. Yordan Mills led Greeneville with 15 points. Taren Claridy scored 14, Zy Neal delivered 13, and Parker Quillen had 12. Elijah Carmack was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points. Landon Jeffers scored 13 and Isaiah Jones had 10.
Greeneville rounds out this week with their final District 2-3A showdown at Volunteer on Friday.
