Coach Terry Hoese took his South Greene Rebels to Bristol to take on the Tennessee High Vikings at Viking Hall for what has become an annual matchup with the Vikings in a Hall of Fame Game.
The Rebels started fast, but could not hold off a Tennessee High rally and fell 66-59
Coach Hoese said, “I’ve said all along, that may be the best team this side of Knoxville. They’re good, from the free throw line and we went 15-30. That’s the difference in the ballgame. Effort wise, and skill wise, I think we’re close to where we need to be. We just gotta knock down some shots. Overall we played one of the best teams around here and at the end we had a shot to win the game. I’m happy.”
The game started off fast and physical and the Rebels were on the good side of the score the entire first half, leading after the first quarter 21-13 with Jase Roderick leading the way with nine of those points.
The Rebs keep up the pace in the second quarter when Chandler Gamble stole the ball and passed it to Roderick on the fast break who set up Gamble with an ally-op dunk.
Some missed free throws and triple by jack Singleton followed by another triple by Colin Brown tied the score at 25-25. A fade away jumper by Brown gave the Viking the lead at 27-25, but another steal by Gamble and long pass to Roderick for a dunk tied the game at 27-27 at the three-minute mark.
Gamble hit one of two from the line and followed with a three from the elbow. Trey Gentry sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining in the half for a 35-30 Rebel lead at halftime.
The Vikings outscored the Rebels 20-12 in third quarter, mostly due to Brown catching fire. Brown’s key play’s in the quarter was a bucket-and-one midway through the quarter followed by another old-fashion-three-point play that sent Gamble to the bench with his fourth foul with 1:54 still to play in the third quarter. Tennessee took a 50-47 lead in the final period.
In the final frame Roderick worked his way to the goal for layup and Caden Fillers did a little up and under layup. Gentry hit a runner in the lane followed by a game tying layup by Fillers midway through the quarter.
Gamble fouled out trying to stop Brown in the lane but the shot was good as was the free throw and the Vikings were up 59-55. Gentry hit another in the lane and Roderick hit a fade away to keep it close at 61-59, but the Vikings pulled away as the clock was winding down, winning over the Rebels 66-59.
Roderick led the Rebels with 20 points, Gentery followed with 16 while Gamble chipped in with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Brown led all scorers with 28 points.
