ROGERSVILLE – Emotions were high inside of The Teepee on Saturday night as South Greene battled back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Union County 67-63 in the third-place game of the Big H BBQ Christmas Bash.
Technical fouls were handed out to both coaching staffs and both head coaches were restricted to the cushions of their bench seats for the fourth quarter of their high-emotion matchup.
Union held a 13-point lead after two technical free throws, but a furious charge from the Rebels thrusted them ahead and gave them the energy to finish strong with a win. After a five-point swing from Union, the Rebels used a 25-6 run, fueled by the technical foul, to get the job done.
“I called a timeout and chewed their hind ends out about getting to the backboard and going to rebound the ball and hustling to get back. From that point on we jumped in a little halfcourt trap and they turned it over a couple times and we got a couple easy buckets. Gamble knocked down some shots and the rest was history,” Rebels Head Coach Terry Hoese said.
Even though he dealt with a bit of foul trouble, Gamble showed just how much of a difference maker he is on the court. His 24 points were a team-high and his 11 fourth-quarter points were much-needed in the long run.
“He is a freak athlete,” Coach Hoese expressed. “When he’s in a game and he’s doing what he needs to be doing he most of the time should be the best player on the floor.”
The first quarter was a feeling out process as neither team held more than a one-possession lead. Both held brief 3-point leads and the score was knotted at 15-15 after one.
South Greene looked to maybe gain a decent-sized lead in the second with a layup from Will Arrowood and a triple from Charlie Lane, but layups from Ty Edds and Eli Wilson cut it back to one point. An Edds three-pointer towards the end of the quarter saw Union take a 31-30 lead into the break.
Union started to pull away in the third with a 10-2 run to open the new half. South Greene trailed 45-37 before tempers flared on a badly missed goaltending call on South Greene’s side. A layup off the backboard was blocked after the ball had already touched the glass. The call was missed and caused South Greene’s bench and fans to erupt in anger and disappointment. South Greene was assessed a technical foul and Ty Edds made both free throws and a three pointer on the possession to follow for a five-point trip.
The lead grew to 50-37, but sometimes a technical is needed to make a team wake up. Charlie Lane scored a quick two after and Noah Wright grabbed an offensive board off a missed free throw and managed to go back up with an and-one. Trey Gentry stole a pass in the backcourt and raced to the cup for a layup as the buzzer sounded.
The Rebels trailed 54-46 and kept the comeback going with a 10-0 run to start the fourth. Gavin Dyer landed a big three through the net and Chandler Gamble was uncontested on a layup underneath the rim. Union’s coaching staff was assessed a technical foul next and Dyer drained both free throws.
Chandler Gamble’s run of 8-straight points for South Greene proved to be a difference maker and put them in control 62-56.
Charlie Lane provided a clutch putback in the paint after a pair of missed free throws. Gentry went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give the Rebels a 7-point lead at 65-58 with time winding down. Union made things interesting with a layup from Edds and a triple from Seth Grigsby. Gavin Dyer went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line to keep the door open for Union with the score at 66-63. The Patriots failed to score and a big-time rebound by Lucas Couch put him at the line with a chance to seal the game. He would also go 1-for-2, but did just enough to put the game out of reach.
The Rebels charged back to pick up a 67-63 win over Union to claim 3rd place.
“The kids played well when they needed to. Happy for that. 2-1 in this tournament and honestly wasn’t satisfied yesterday with the outcome, but we got beat by a good team yesterday. To come out here and go 2-1 without two 6’6” players I’ll take it,” Hoese expressed.
Chandler Gamble led the way with 24 points. Trey Gentry gave the Rebels 11 and Charlie Lane had 10.
Ty Edds delivered a game-high 26 points again. Kaden Carroll had 11.
Trey Gentry was named to the All-Tournament Team after the game.
