Bearden boys rally past Maryville for 4-AAA title
Bearden High School’s third-quarter defensive pressure was relentless.
Its comeback was breathtaking.
In stunning fashion, the defensive-minded Bulldogs rallied from 13 points down in the third quarter to take a 75-70 win over Maryville on Tuesday night in the District 4-AAA boys basketball tournament championship game at Hardin Valley Academy.
Bearden forced 10 Maryville turnovers in the third quarter as the Bulldogs turned a 13-point deficit into a 52-46 lead after three quarters.
“The game wasn’t going so well in the half-court,” said Bearden coach Jeremy Parrott.
“I was hoping we could make the tempo faster on them. We work on the press every day.”
Led by the super-quick backcourt tandem of Trent Stephney and Ques Glover, the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs (19-8) beat the top-seeded Rebels (23-5) for the second time in three meetings this season.
Bearden hosts Clinton at 7 p.m. Saturday in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal elimination game. Maryville is at home against Karns in its Saturday regional contest.
Stephney, the tourney MVP, poured in 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Bearden got the tempo to its liking in the third quarter.
Glover and Drew Pember each scored 19 for the balanced Bulldogs. Pember grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and had four blocks.
“We’ve got as good a backcourt as there is around,” said Parrott. “But it’s not just our guards. We’ve got pieces all up and down our lineup, and today they showed it.”
Easton Upchurch scored 17, T.D. Blackmon 15 and Spencer Lowe 11 for the Rebels.
Blackmon and Lowe each had six rebounds for the Rebels.
Third-quarter flurry: Bearden outscored Maryville 29-19 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs hit three 3-pointers in the final 1:01 of the quarter as Glover (twice) and Pember connected from behind the arc.
Stat of the game: Despite coughing up 10 turnovers in the momentum-changing third quarter, Maryville and Bearden both wound up with 15 turnovers on the night.
Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor.