SPORTS

The breakdown: Station Camp edges Gallatin in overtime to earn region berth

Ryan Jent
For USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Station Camp’s Jalen Woods collides with Gallatin’s Zyun Mason during Friday’s District 9-AAA Tournament quarterfinals.

LEBANON Friday’s rubber match between Gallatin and Station Camp had a bit more meaning, given that the two squads met in the first round of the District 9-AAA Tournament at Lebanon High School.

The Bison escaped with a 49-45 overtime victory to earn a Region 5-AAA Tournament berth.

Breakdown of Friday’s game:

Tonight’s takeaways: Station Camp managed to do enough down the stretch of the fourth quarter and overtime while Gallatin seemed to find a way to disappear in the big moments.

The win stemmed a nasty tide for Station Camp as the Bison came into the postseason as losers of its last five.

Though Gallatin ended the year in a heartbreaking manner, it was a turnaround campaign for the Green Wave. Gallatin finished 9-17 last season, falling in the first round of the district tournament to Mt. Juliet. This season’s campaign had a similar exit, but finished at 20-9.

Defining moments: Neither team could separate from each other throughout the game, but down the stretch in regulation and overtime, Station Camp proved to be the better team.

Gallatin’s Collin Minor drained a 3-pointer with 7:40 left to go to give his squad a 7-point lead at 33-26, but the Green Wave would not hit a field goal throughout the rest of regulation.

A free throw from Chase Freeman gave Station Camp a two-point lead at 37-35 with 1:49 left to go before Octavian Arnold’s two free throws 20 seconds later tied the game up, eventually sending it into overtime.

Gallatin’s Nigel Black dribbles into the lane as Station Camp’s Reed Reynolds pursues during Friday’s District 9-AAA Tournament quarterfinals.

Gallatin held a one-point lead with 1:21 to go before Station Camp guard Thomas Zazzaro took over in the final minute of overtime.

Zazzaro had three points and a huge rebound off a Gallatin miss within the final minute that proved to be the difference. Jonathan Gilliard, Jr. also chipped in four points and a pair of offensive rebounds during the waning moments of overtime.

Leading scorers: Station Camp: Freeman 19, Max Barnett 11, Gilliard, Jr. 8, Zazzaro 8. Gallatin: Arnold 16, Marlon Mitchell 14, Nigel Black 6.

What they said: “Both teams making ridiculous plays, and neither team wanted to lose,” Station Camp guard Chase Freeman said. “You just got to do what you’ve been doing all season. Don’t try to do anything fancy trying to make plays, just do what you been doing and everything will take care of itself.”

“Marlon Mitchell, Nigel Black, Anthony Woods, and Dakota Bailey our seniors really battled through a lot for us and had to do a lot especially last year when we were so young,” Gallatin coach Bobby Luna said. “I’m really proud of all our seniors for what they’ve been through and we’ll think about next year later, but we really want to honor our four seniors right now.”

Next up: Station Camp faces Mt. Juliet in Saturday’s semifinals at 5:30 p.m., while Gallatin is eliminated with the loss.