Wilson Jumper Gives 'Betsy Win at Snake-Bitten Central
by BRYAN MOORE
TriCitiesSports.com
January 18, 2018
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. -- One couldn't blame the Sullivan Central boys basketball team for perhaps feeling just a little snakebit.
After suffering an emotionally-draining, painful four overtime loss last Friday night to Unicoi County in which senior Grayson Wright was lost for the season to a knee injury, Eric Wilson nailed a jumper at the buzzer to give Elizabethton a huge 47-46 victory over the Cougars in Three Rivers Conference action before a rare early evening crowd Thursday at the Dickie Warren Dome.
The Cougars trailed for most of the contest when Ben Williams hit a running layup to give Central a 40-39 in the fourth quarter. The Cyclones responded with a basket from Adam Cornett, two free throws from Wilson, and a rebound and putback by Corbin Montgomery and held a 45-40 advantage.
As the clock wound down, the Cougars (9-12, 3-3) made some big plays. Jordan Self grabbed a rebound and scored. Then Matt Long nailed four consecutive pressure free throws--the last two coming with 12 seconds remaining--to put Central on top 46-45.
Elizabethton called a timeout to set up for the potential game-winner. Wilson found himself in the right place at the right time and took the shot from the foul line.
It bounced once off the rim and went through the hoop as the buzzer sounded to send the Cyclones' trip home to Carter County a joyous one while also snapping a three-game losing streak.
"We ran the inbound play from the other side," explained Wilson, who scored 16 points. "We were thinking they maybe would come up but they didn't. So there was kind of scramble there. We got the ball in the corner and I saw an open lane. I took it and figured I had to pull up and shoot it."
"I was hoping it would go in. It looked good when it came out of my hand. It hit the rim and was kind of soft and then it rolled in."
In a game that had been rescheduled because of snow, Elizabethton (5-15, 3-3) took the early lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Cornett, who also tallied 16 points. The Cyclones led 12-9 after one quarter.
The Cougars struggled to find their rhythm. Self and Jackson Harrison got in foul trouble and were sidelined for the last three minutes of the first half.
Baskets by Will Miller and Parker Hughes pushed the Cyclones' advantage to 28-23 at the intermission. Elizabethton controlled the tempo of the game and kept it low-scoring to prevent Central from getting its high-powered offense going.
"They came out and executed their game plan," noted Central coach Derek McGhee. "They made us work for every bucket, ran the clock, and waited until they had a great shot. They didn't just take good shots. They took great shots."
"They made it into a game in the 40's. That benefits them, not us."
Elizabethton carried a 37-34 lead going into the fourth quarter and held on to a much-needed victory thanks to Wilson's heroics.
"Big win," said Cyclones coach Lucas Honeycutt. "A win's a win. It was ugly. I guess that's one of those rescheduled snow things. I don't think either team felt like they played up to par. But it just come down to pretty much who hit a shot at the end and it was us tonight."
Long led Central with 15 points while Self added 12. The Cougars have lost three in a row, including two home conference games in dramatic fashion. Yet, in McGhee's eyes, bad luck or misfortune had nothing to do with the result.
"They just outplayed us," McGhee stated matter-of-factly. "We're not going to make any excuses. They played harder than we did and that's on me as a coach...We didn't play well enough to win."
ELIZABETHTON (5-15, 3-3) -- Adam Cornett 6 1-2 16, Hughes 1 1-2 3, Perkins 0 0-0 0, Eric Wilson 5 6-7 16, Price 1 0-0 2, Ashley 1 0-0 2, Miller 3 0-0 6, Montgomery 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 8-11 47.
SULLIVAN CENTRAL (9-12, 3-3) -- Duncan 1 0-0 3, Williams 3 2-2 8, Jordan Self 5 1-2 12, Dugger 0 1-2 1, Harrison 1 0-0 2, Matt Long 4 7-10 15, Arnold 2 0-0 4, Bradley 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 12-18 46.
Elizabethton | 12 | 16 | 9 | 10 | -- 47 |
Sullivan Central | 9 | 14 | 11 | 12 | -- 46 |
Three-Pointers: Elizabethton 3 (Cornett 3); Sullivan Central 2 (Self, Duncan).