JONESBOROUGH – The South Greene boys basketball toughened up in the fourth quarter to come from behind and beat Daniel Boone 64-47 in the first round of the Hardees’ Classic at David Crockett High School.
With the win South Greene moves on to take on host David Crockett on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals. The Rebels have won the tournament the past two season and will be looking to bring home the trophy from the 36th version of the event as well.
“We were good at times, and sloppy at times, but I’m proud that they didn’t panic when they lost the lead,” South Greene coach Terry Hoese said. “They kept their heads in the game, and late they did the right things to open the game up. We are trying to win this thing for the third time and you have to win the first one to do that. Tonight was a big one.”
South Greene let the lead slip away in the third quarter and started the fourth quarter trailing 44-42.
In the fourth quarter the Rebels’ defense made things tougher on Daniel Boone, limiting their looks and controlling the glass. That led to South Greene starting the period on a 14-0 run.
“We have a lot of guys that have played a lot, even if they weren’t starters, and they know how to handle those situations,” Hoese said. “I’ve seen some growth since we played Tennessee High a week ago, and I hope to continue to see that. We rebounded better in the fourth quarter, we turned that around. Then we took care of the ball, ran time off the clock, and found guys open for layups.”
Will Arrowood tied the game early in the final period with a jumper from the short corner, and with 6:52 left to play Cayden Filler nailed a pair of free throws to put the Rebels on top 46-44.
Gavin Dyer followed with a pair of three-pointers to really put the Trailblazers on their heels.
Dyer led all scorers on Tuesday with 21 points as he connected on five three-pointers.
“Gavin is going to have to score for us to win and he knows that,” Hoese said. “Once he starts making shots he’s hard to guard because he gets it off quick.”
With 2:09 left Arrowood capped a one-minute possession by tapping one off the glass for a 56-44 lead. Going the other way Zach Johnson sank a triple to break Boone’s six-minute scoring drought.
The Rebels went on to score eight more points before the game finished, outscoring the Blazers 22-3 in the final frame.
The night began with the Rebels getting two driving layups and a three-pointer from Charlie Lane to go in front 9-6. Jameson White sank a pull-up triple before Dyer made good a deep shot through contact that he turned into four points.
The Rebels lead reached 18-8 when Fillers blocked a shot on one end and set up Lucas Couch for a transition layup on the other.
Over the final 26 seconds of the first quarter Boone scored four points to close the gap to 18-12.
In the second quarter South Greene’s lead grew to 25-14 when Fillers drained a jump shot from the elbow.
Conner Carpenter hit from behind the arc going the other way to start a 7-0 run for the Blazers.
Alex Leon and Dyer each sank triples for the Rebels, and they took a 33-29 lead into halftime.
With 4:17 left in third quarter the Trailblazer took the lead at 36-35 when Carpenter went through lane and landed a runner.
South Greene took the advantage back when Simon Burns set up Arrowood for a transition bucket.
With 22 seconds left in the quarter Zach Johnson hit a triple from the right wing to put Daniel Boone on top 44-41, and they took a 44-42 lead into fourth quarter.
Fillers was also in double figures for South Greene with 13 points. Arrowood scored eight points, Lane had seven and Couch scored seven.
Carpenter led Daniel Boone with 19 points.
The South Greene boys' basketball team kicked off the Hardees Classic with a resounding 64-47 victory over Daniel Boone.#FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/I1J9zfV85K
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 26, 2025
All Rebels as they take down Daniel Boone High, 65-47#FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/QeTAW0Iw8O
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 26, 2025
