Powell coasts to 70-57 win over Karns in 3-AAA semifinal

CLINTON — On two different occasions, K.J. Hawkins sprinted to the rim for what seemed like an easy fast-break layup, but instead of putting two points on the board, the Karns High School guard was blocked from behind.

In a game where Powell made it difficult to get the basket, even the wide-open layups were tough to make.

The Panthers limited the Beavers to their lowest scoring output of the season en route to a 70-57 victory Saturday in the semifinals of the District 3-AAA tournament at Clinton High School.

“I was really proud of the effort,” Powell head coach Gary Barnes said. “Our boys really followed the game plan well. Karns was able to hit 12 threes, but we were able to contain the dribble, which they are really good off of.

“That’s what we wanted to do — keep them out of the lane, make them shoot over us and rebound the ball — and I thought we did that pretty well.”

The Panthers will face the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between Oak Ridge and Clinton at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the district title.

Powell never trailed in the game and used a 16-7 run to close out the second quarter  and build a 29-21 lead at halftime. The Panthers built as much as a 15-point lead in the second half, and withstood a small flurry by Karns in the middle of the fourth quarter to advance to the championship.

Isaiah Keeter paced Karns with 14 points, while Hawkins and Quincy Sibley added 11 and 10 points, respectively. The trio combined to hit seven of Karns’ 12 3-pointers.

Jack Richards scored a game-high 22 points for Powell and was joined in double figures by Riley Hamilton, who scored 10.

“Jack Richards was out the last three games (of the regular season), and tonight I think he got back to game shape,” Barnes said. “He’s the heart and soul of our team. He’s a coachable kid and does a lot of the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Just having him back is comforting for our guys.”