SPORTS

Mustangs surge past White House

Knox Doss boys basketball squad remains unbeaten, reaches county championship game

Craig Harris
Gallatin News Examiner

PORTLAND Through 16 games, no team in the Sumner County Conference has managed to hit the target.

The unbeaten Knox Doss Middle at Drakes Creek boys basketball team overcame a high-powered start by No. 4 seed White House on Tuesday evening before claiming a 51-39 victory in the Sumner County Conference Tournament semifinal round at Portland West Middle School.

Knox Doss Middle guard Briston Bennett elevates for a first-quarter jump shot over White House’s Durstin Adams. Bennett scored five points in the Mustangs’ 51-39 victory on Tuesday evening.

“At tournament time, there’s a different pressure,” Mustang head coach Brent Cothron said. “The atmosphere is different. We talk about survive and advance. We know the target is on our back. We know we’re picked to win it. We talked about having a laser focus, doing the little things – the detailed things – and those are the things we focus on. Tonight, we got away from the little things, of not blocking out and some things we should do.”

However, top-seeded Knox Doss (16-0) didn’t get far enough away from those things, holding the Blue Devils without a field goal and to just one point over the final eight minutes of the first half.

White House (11-5) stormed out to a six-point lead as Jacob McDonald sank consecutive 3-pointers in the first quarter.

White House Middle School guard Logan Neufeld dribbles along the baseline during second-quarter action as Knox Doss’ Max Barnett looks on. Neufeld scored four points.

“That’s Blue Devil Pride,” Cothron said. “They have a tremendous amount of pride in their athletics in White House.

“They’re the defending (tournament) champs. They weren’t going to go away. I told that our boys that their crowd was going to be rowdy and that they were going to fight tooth and nail. Sure enough, they didn’t go away.”

The Mustangs took the lead when Kaleb Powell made a 3-pointer just 20 seconds into the second stanza.

Max Barnett’s layin late in the half gave Knox Doss a 21-12, halftime advantage.

Jorian Cantrell and Barnett made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the third quarter, extending the margin to 15 points.

Barnett tossed in another 3-pointer late in the period, giving his squad its biggest lead (38-21).

The Blue Devils pulled back to within seven points on Durstin Adams’ putback with 3:13 remaining, but baskets from Cantrell and Garnett Hollis helped the Mustangs seal the win.

White House Middle School’s Evan Webster elevates for a second-quarter layin. Webster scored eight points.

“They threw a chaser defense in there that gave us problems,” Cothron – whose squad captured a 55-37 win over visiting White House on Nov. 23 – said. “In the end, we settled down to hit some free throws and big buckets and come away with the win.

“We’re excited to be in the championship game. We deserve to be here, but we’re not entitled to anything. You have to go get it. We’ve now given ourselves an opportunity.”

Barnett and Hollis led Knox Doss with 17 and 15 points, respectively, and Cantrell provided 10 points.

Knox Doss Middle point guard Garnett Hollis elevates to shoot a first-quarter jump shot in front of White House’s Evan Webster (2) and Zak Lamaal. Hollis scored 15 points in the Mustangs’ 51-39 victory on Tuesday evening.

Adams scored a team-high 13 points, and McDonald and Evan Webster contributed nine and eight points, respectively.

“We do play with a lot of poise,” Cothron said. “We know we’re going to get everybody’s best. These guys have some experience. We’re coming back from last year with some experience. I’m extremely proud of their poise.

“We’ve talked about playing with humility. We want to be humble and hungry.”

The Mustangs advanced to face third-seeded Station Camp in Thursday evening’s championship game.

Reach Craig Harris atcharris@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7138. Follow him on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.

WHITE HOUSE (39) – Durstin Adams 13, Jacob McDonald 9, Evan Webster 8, Zak Lamaal 5, Logan Neufeld 4.

KNOX DOSS (51) – Max Barnett 17, Garnett Hollis 15, Jorian Cantrell 10, Briston Bennett 5, Kaleb Powell 4.

Half: 21-12, Knox Doss. Three-point goals: White House 4 (McDonald 2, Neufeld 1, Webster 1), Knox Doss 4 (Barnett 2, Cantrell 1, Powell 1). Records: White House 11-5, Knox Doss 16-0.