There’s always a lot of talk about home court advantage and the benefits a team might have from playing in their own gym. That may be the case, but that just makes winning on the road a bigger deal, especially when a key district game is being played.
The Signal Mountain Eagles are off to one of their best starts in recent memory and they were winners on the road at Central on Tuesday as they improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in District 6-AAA. Central is now 3-6 overall and winless in three district contests.
It was a tense game on both sides, especially in the second half when the lead changed hands eight times in the third quarter alone. But when push came to shove, the Eagles were able to come out on top as they made big plays at the end when the game was on the line.
“I’m just glad that we found a way to win,” said Signal Mountain coach Steve Redman as he headed toward the Eagle dressing room.
“We obviously still have a lot of things to work on, but I’d rather be up by two than down by two at the end. They always talk about basketball being a game of inches. A play here or there may have been the difference. I don’t think we shot the ball well and we had a tough time stopping the Sharpe kid, but we made some key plays at the end and that was the difference.
“It’s always nice to get a big district win on the road, so we’ll take it and be happy,” Redman concluded with a smile.
Central coach Kantonio Davis can at times be his own worst critic. He had commented before the game that his Pounders “weren’t very good” right now, but those young men played their hearts out and might have gone home with a win, but the ball just didn’t bounce their way at the end.
“We had some costly late-game mistakes that really hurt and our inability to pass and catch at the end may have been the difference. We make that connection and we might have a different outcome,” he said just outside the Central dressing room.
“I thought we played hard, but we have to be better mentally. But our pass and catch wasn’t where it needed to be and that hurt,” he added.
The Eagles had a 13-8 when the first quarter ended and Central never had the lead until Kolsean Patillo scored on a layup with 45 seconds left in the half for a 20-19 advantage. Josh Thompson followed with a layup of his own 26 seconds later and that allowed the Eagles to take a 21-20 lead into the dressing room at intermission.
The third quarter was a roller coaster for both teams as there were eight lead changes in that period alone. Blake Wolfard’s layup with 27 seconds showing put Signal Mountain up 38-36 with one quarter remaining. By the time he scored on a short bank shot with 4:46 left in the game, Central had used a 9-0 run to take a 45-38 lead.
Thompson and Andrew Matukewicz both sank two free throws in the next minute to get the Eagles within one at 45-44 with 3:25 showing.
A 3 from the key by Drew Williams put the Pounders on top 48-44. A layup by Matthew Sharpe, who scored Central’s first 12 points and finished the game with 20, put the Pounders up 50-47 with 2:09 to play.
Back-to-back buckets by Josh Thompson and Christian Thompson put Signal Mountain ahead 51-50 with 47 seconds left before Ronye Watson sank the second of two free throws with 23.5 seconds left to knot the score after getting a steal on the inbounds play.
The Eagles had the ball under the Central basket at the end, but were able to beat the press and get what turned out to be the winning bucket from Ben Timblin with 13 seconds to play.
Central had the ball for one final possession with 6.9 seconds to play, but the inbounds pass was intercepted by Timblin, who was promptly fouled with 0.3 second left. He missed both free throws – the second one intentionally – as Central rebounded but didn’t have enough time to get off a final shot.
Josh Thompson and Matukewicz both scored 13 points to lead the Signal Mountain attack while Wolfard added 11 off the bench.
Sharpe’s 20 was tops for Central while Williams was next with 19.
Central also had an unofficial 26-21 edge in rebounds as Sharpe snagged seven and Williams six. Josh Thompson and Timblin both claimed six for Signal Mountain.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN GIRLS 60, CENTRAL 6: Tre’Meshia Martin scored six points for Central in the first quarter – both on 3s – but the Lady Pounders didn’t score again as the Lady Eagles cruised to a 54-point win, improving to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in district play in the process.
Carlee Lowry had another outstanding game and scored 27 points in limited playing time. Ashlyn Rock and Becca Rogers both followed with eight points each.
Signal’s next game will be played at home on Saturday against Baylor and it's a special holiday event with proceeds benefitting the Forgotten Child's Fund. It all begins with the JV girls kicking off the action at 3, followed by JV boys at 4:30, varsity girls at 6 and varsity boys at 7:30. Basketball fans are asked to bring a new unwrapped toy or a coat for a young person for admission to the game. They will also gladly accept monetary donations as well.
GIRLS SUMMARY
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 22 12 19 7 -- 60
CENTRAL 6 0 0 0 -- 6
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN (60) – Walker, Roberson 2, Clark, Redman 5, Carlee Lowry 27, Rock 8, Griffith 4, Bohman 2, Edwards, Rogers 8, Provonsha 4.
CENTRAL (6) – McKibbens, McCane, Montgomery, Range, Hyder, Woods, Alford, Smith, Martin 6, Nixon, Morgan.
3-Point Goals: Signal Mountain 1 (Redman); Central 2 (Martin 2).
BOYS SUMMARY
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 13 8 17 15 -- 53
CENTRAL 8 12 16 15 -- 51
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN (53) – Andrew Matukewicz 13, Davis 2, Timblin 6, Kennedy 6, C. Thompson 2, Blake Wolfard 11, Zimmerman, Josh Thompson 13.
CENTRAL (51) – Watson 5, V. Powell, Patillo 5, Charles, K. Powell 2, Sanderfer, Drew Williams 19, Matthew Sharpe 20, Kendrick.
3-Point Goals: Signal Mountain 4 (Matukewicz 2, Kennedy 2); Central 4 (Williams 3, Patillo).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)