Brashear Tournament Friday Night Action

Boy's and girl's championships were on the line along with boy's 3rd place to be decided.

Friday evening started with the 3rd place boys game between host Brashear and Douglass. Douglass came out shooting while Brashear just couldn't seem to get on the board. By the end of the 1st quarter, Douglass held a 19-8 lead. Just like Brashear fans have seen several times before this season, being down early doesn't mean the Tigers are ready to give up. Brashear closed the gap to 36-28 a half-time having briefly pulled to within 4 during the 2nd quarter. As the 2nd half unfolded, Brashear kept making runs at Douglass pulling to within 3 in the 3rd quarter. Each time Brashear managed to close the gap, Douglass would manage to pull away again. Brashear's last run midway through the last quarter brought them to within 2 points, but once again, Douglass found points when they needed them and pulled out the win 72-67. Brashear had 2 players in double figures, Kale Watson with 25 points, and Jacob Shipman with 24. Tyler Killen added 7 points, Kiley Watson had 5, Justin Hazen had 4, and Andrew Linhart had 2 points. Douglass also had 2 players in double figures with Michael Hamilton scoring 24, and Montario Horsley putting in 18. Landon Boone had 9, Michael Bacon and Brandon Gleason each had 5, Cameron Smith and Joe Brown each had 4, and Aaron amp had 3 points. Douglass took 3rd place and Brashear finished in 4th place.

After the Brashear and Novinger girls teams faced each other 5 times last season and twice so far this season, it would seem there would be few surprises left between them. However, Friday night was to prove different. With Novinger starter Anna Grgurich sidelined with knee problems and Brashear starter Christina Scudder sidelined recovering from a bout with the flu, things might just be shaken up a bit. Brashear's surprise for the Novinger Wildcats came in the form of Chelsey Collop. When Collop got the start, she intended to make the most of it and fired in 8 first half points as did teammate ChaRae Cole giving Brashear a 22-18 lead going into halftime. After Brashear extended their lead to 33-26 after 3 quarters, Novinger started to come to life in the 4th. Just after Novinger rallied to within 3, Collop nailed another pair of buckets to give the Lady Tigers some breathing room. Novinger's pressure in the 4th started putting Brashear's Kimberly Elsea on the free throw line where she knew just what to do hitting 9 out of 10 free throws on the night. Brashear ultimately held on for the 51-43 win and 1st place in Brashear's 77th Annual Tournament. Elsea, Collop, and Cole were all in double figures with 13, 12, and 11 points for Brashear. Hailee Kelsey added 8, Jessi Hill had 5, and Ashley Clarkson scored 2 points. Novinger was led by Katelyn Brawner with 14, Katie King with 7, Katie Moore, Kourtney Brawner, and Emily Wayman had 6 each, and Whitney Middleton scored 4 points. The Novinger Lady Wildcats took 2nd in the tournament. The Knox County Lady Eagles took 3rd place.

In the boy's championship game, Knox County seemed to be in control in the early going leading 11-3 after 1 quarter and 21-14 at the half. Novinger's Justin Denton, who had scored 35 points earlier in the week was held to just 2 first-half points while Knox County's Dennis Dent was pouring in 11 before half-time. That all began to change in the second half with Denton scoring 14 2nd half points to lead Novinger to a 39-35 win. Denton finished with 16 points followed closely by Grant Daniels with 14 points. Adam Greathouse had 4, Dakota Jacques had 3 points, and Evan Sthole and Tyler Rodman had 1 point each. Knox County was led by Dennis Dent with 16 points, Brett Hamlin had 9, Brett Hunter had 5, Caleb Shubert scored 4, and Cody Couch had 1 point. Novinger took 1st place and Knox County took 2nd place honors.