Greeneville and Dobyns-Bennett got together for what is arguably the best basketball rivalry in East Tennessee at Hal Henard gymnasium, and after a tightly contested battle in the end the Greene Devils were able to pull away for a 71-59 win.
Greene Devil Coach Brad Woolsey said, “We talked about it before the game with the guys, and we should not play this game any different, you know we play each other year after year as the rivalry developed, it’s always going to tough, hard, competitive but it’s clean.”
Both teams felt each other out in the early going with neither team taking control. With the Devils trailing 11-9 with just under two minutes remaining in the first period Yordan Mills dropped a triple from the corner to give Greeneville its first lead of the game at 12-11. That led was short lived as the Indians’ TJ Maxwell put the Tribe back in front with a short jumper.
Cole Smith worked his way to the goal for a layup that surged the Devils back in front 14-13 at the one minute mark. Tyree Thomas made a pair of free throws, and the see-saw battle was on, with the Indians up 15-14 after the first quarter.
As the second quarter started Levi Webb drilled a corner three and was fouled in the process, the free throw was good to complete the rare four-point play for Dobyns-Bennett. Zayden Hayes got loose under the bucket for a layup and Webb followed with put back that forced a timeout by Woolsey after a 10-0 run had the Tribe up 23-14.
Whatever message Coach Woolsey had for his team during the timeout must have worked, and Greeneville outscored the Indians 11-2 over the next six minutes. A Trey Thompson catch-and-release triple from the key, and a quick drive to the hoop by Jherivus Moore tied things at 25-25.
Thompson hit two free throws on consecutive possessions to keep the score tied but Maxwell’s three pointer from the elbow gave the Indians a 32-29 advantage. Mills, racing down the court, drilled a triple from the corner at the buzzer to tie the score at 32-32 all at the half.
Maxwell and Cam Hayworth gave the Indians the early third quarter lead, but Dom Tweed hit a corner three and on the next possession and then he drilled a triple from the top of the key. In transition it was Tweed again, this time he took a long pass from Thompson for a reverse layup. Moore then dropped a triple from the corner for a 50-43 Greene Devil lead which prompted Dobyns-Bennett Coach Chris Poore, a former Greene Devil, into a timeout.
Zaydyn Anderson made good on a pair of free throws as did Mills, but the Indians’ Hayworth was good on a three point play the hard way to end the third quarter with the Devils up 54-51.
Thomas hit a bucket to draw the Indians to within one point at 54-53 then Thompson hit a left-handed jumper in lane to regain a three-point lead for Greeneville.
Isaac McGill picked up his fourth foul trying to control the middle and had to take a seat on the bench and was replaced by Smith. Smith immediately made an impact on the game by stealing the ball and passing ahead to Thompson on the fast break for a reverse alley-oop dunk that brought the crowd to its feet while giving the Devils a 61-55 lead.
Moments later with the Devils up six the Indians were on a fast break. Track star Zaydyn Anderson used his sprinter speed to spoil a layup attempt, knocking the ball out of bounds.
Woolsey later said, “Zaydyn is just so consistent right now, he’s a leader on defense. As a Coach I rely on him and his teammates rely on him, he’s doing a great job in leading the team right now on defense.”
Thompson was good from in front to give the Devils an eight-point lead with two minutes remaining in the game. Then Thompson converted an old fashion three-point play and the lead was nine with just over a minute to play. He forced his way to the rim for another dunk on another pass from Smith for the exclamation point and Devils were victorious 71-59 over their long-time rival.
Thompson led all scorers with 26 points for the Devils, while Mills and Tweed each added 10 points. Maxwell led the Tribe with 18 points and Hayes contributed with 11.
