ERWIN – Chuckey-Doak walked into enemy territory on Friday night looking to shake up the District 1-2A standings but left Erwin with a 74-45 loss to the league-leading Unicoi County Blue Devils.
“I thought we played pretty good at times. It’s their second game in two weeks and it showed,” Black Knights head coach Sam Broyles stated.
It was Senior Night in Erwin and the Blue Devils were amped up and excited to play. Unicoi jumped out to a 14-3 lead before you knew it and it was hard for Chuckey-Doak to keep up with the red-hot shooting performance from the Blue Devils.
The long layoff between games seemed to affect Chuckey-Doak as the rust showed in their early start. The Black Knights shook off the rust and managed to cut the lead back to eight to start the third, but never recovered and let the game get away from them.
“I thought the effort was there. You could tell where we haven’t played. I thought we got tired too at times. We’ve got to turn around and play tomorrow night too,” Coach Broyles mentioned.
Chuckey-Doak dropped to 13-12 (4-4) after the loss. The Black Knights fall to 4-4 in District 1-2A and drop back to fourth place. Unicoi locked up the regular season championship with Friday night’s win.
Dom Atchison led Chuckey-Doak with 14 points and Ryland Grindstaff had 13. AJ Thomas led Unicoi with a game-high 21 points and Jackson Simmons scored 19.
The night started in a way many expected, Blue Devil senior Jackson Simmons sank a mid-range jumper. Unicoi never surrendered the lead and led wire-to-wire after that shot. Jackson Simmons drove in for a layup and Eli Harris drained a triple to give them a 9-3 lead that quickly grew to 14-3 after a catch-and-shoot three from Jackson Simmons and a fastbreak layup by Carter Simmons.
Chuckey-Doak scored six of the next eight points to draw within seven before a pair of threes from birthday boy AJ Thomas reached the bottom of the net. Unicoi County led 22-9 after the first quarter.
Brady Simmons was the next Simmons to score and scored five in-a-row with a layup and three-pointer. The Blue Devil lead grew to 27-9 before Chuckey-Doak started chipping away. Ryland Grindstaff scored five-straight next with a baseline layup and three-point bucket. AJ Thomas briefly halted his run with a triple, but Grindstaff picked back up with a layup to cap his run at seven-straight for Chuckey-Doak.
Dom Atchison and Gavin Crum netted three-point bombs next and Mason Henderson made a layup right before the half, but Unicoi kept up with Chuckey-Doak’s pace and held their own. The Knights trailed 37-26 going into the halftime break.
Coming out of the break a three-point bomb was activated by Knox McAmis and cut the Unicoi lead to nine. That would be the closest Chuckey-Doak would get as Unicoi began running away with the game. After McAmis landed the three the Blue Devils outscored the Black Knights 20-8 for the rest of the frame. Jackson Simmons scored ten in the period and Unicoi held a 57-37 lead going into the fourth.
“They’re very patient in their offense to get him where they want him. I thought they did a good job at getting Simmons to score,” Broyles said.
Unicoi never let off the gas on their special night and began the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to effectively put the game out of reach early into the final quarter.
Chuckey-Doak suffered a 74-45 defeat to Unicoi County on Friday.
“I’m proud of the effort. I thought the effort was there. We know we can get better so that’s crucial,” Broyles said.
Dom Atchison led Chuckey-Doak with 14 points and Ryland Grindstaff had 13. AJ Thomas led Unicoi with a game-high 21 points and Jackson Simmons scored 19.
Chuckey-Doak ends their week with a trip to Johnson City tomorrow to square off with University High.
GIRLS
Unicoi County 51, Chuckey-Doak 40
Chuckey-Doak showed lots of improvement and battled toe-to-toe with Unicoi County on Senior Night, but left Erwin with a 51-40 loss on Friday night.
The Lady Blue Devils started District 1-2A play 0-3, but have turned things around and won four-straight since. Chuckey-Doak after a long layoff visited Unicoi County on its Senior Night and attempted to play spoiler. One bad half put them behind the eight ball and forced them to play from behind all second half. The Lady Knights never backed down and never gave up and made Unicoi County earn their win.
Chuckey-Doak trailed 24-11 at the half, but managed to win the second half battle by two points and erased a 21-point deficit to cut it to 11 at multiple points in the fourth quarter. Unicoi hit some timely shots and kept Chuckey-Doak in the rear-view mirror until crossing the finish line.
“Unbelievably proud of the effort in the second half and the no-quit attitude,” Chuckey-Doak head coach Tanner Earley stated.
The Lady Knights fell to 3-19 (1-7) after Friday’s loss. They remain tied for 5th place with Happy Valley after the Lady Warriors’ loss to West Greene on Friday.
Carlene Bishop led Chuckey-Doak with a game-high 14 points. Abigail Vidrio led Unicoi County with 10 points.
“I was happy with how everybody played tonight. Everybody was slow to start the game. We’ve had one practice all week and it showed. I was proud of everybody who got in there,” Coach Earley bragged.
The long layoff definitely played a factor in Chuckey-Doak’s slow start. The Lady Knights were held to only three points in the first quarter. Carlene Bishop sank a three-pointer in the early going and gave Chuckey-Doak a brief 3-2 lead before Unicoi finished the quarter on an 8-0 run. The Lady Knights trailed 10-3 after the first quarter.
Sophomore Jayden Myers created a spark to start the second quarter with a 4-0 run. Myers stole a pass on Unicoi’s first possession and raced home for a layup. She landed a short jumper next to cut it to 10-7.
The run that proved to be the difference maker occurred in the second quarter. The Lady Blue Devils scored 11-straight points which would prove to be the final margin. Laney Rogers started the run with a steal and a layup. Abigail Vidrio turned a Chuckey-Doak turnover into points with a layup. Carly Baxter and Vidrio went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and Kaley Toney finished the run with an old-fashioned three-point play with a layup and a free throw. The Lady Devils went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the run.
Unicoi County held a 24-11 lead over Chuckey-Doak at the break.
The second half started slow for Chuckey-Doak and forced them into their largest deficit yet. Unicoi began on a 6-0 run and took a 30-11 lead. Carlene Bishop killed the run with a mid-range bucket and her sister, Cristen Bishop, sank a free throw. Unicoi went on a 5-0 run next to put Chuckey-Doak in a 21-point hole. Chloe Kirkpatrick drained a triple that kickstarted a 7-0 run for Chuckey-Doak. Hayleigh Seidl’s transition layup and Cristen Bishop’s floater capped the run. Chuckey-Doak trailed 36-21 after three quarters played.
Unicoi County started the fourth on a 6-3 run and took an 18-point lead, but Chuckey-Doak stayed visible in their rear-view mirror. Carlene Bishop and Jayden Myers each scored from long range with three-point baskets to cut it to twelve. Myers went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it an 11-point game.
Unicoi’s Emma Grace Anders sank a corner three with 3:00 left to start another scoring run for the home team. Abigail Vidrio’s and-one and Laney Rogers’ pair of foul shots ended an 8-0 run and helped Unicoi reach a 51-32 advantage.
The Lady Knights ended the game on an 8-0 run of their own to make it an 11-point margin at the final buzzer. Chuckey-Doak fell to Unicoi County, 51-40.
Carlene Bishop led Chuckey-Doak with a game-high 14 points. Abigail Vidrio led Unicoi County with 10 points.
Chuckey-Doak ends their week with a trip to Johnson City tomorrow to square off with University High.
“We’ve got University High next so right there should be a confidence booster in itself. We’ve already beat them and we know what they’ve got,” Earley mentioned.
