Loose End

Man, I wish I wasn't sick and could have gone to the game, it sounds exciting. I'm surprised Ooltewah was trailing most of the game, I guess Soddy gave them a run for their money. It seems Ooltewah plays best when they're playing from behind. Maybe from now on we should just throw the 3rd quarter, let the other team get a 8-10 point lead, and respond just like we did against soddy. It'd make for an exciting game, anyway.

Sarcasm isn't lost online if you do it correctly. And I wasn't mad, I just misunderstood you and tried to defend myself. And, I'll have to agree Brandon is best at point. I don't think Foster has the speed to bring the ball up, much less drive in and break down a zone. Brandon plays with such heart on the both sides of the court, I don't think he could be replaced. Though the idea of putting in Westbrook and maybe go with whoever has the hot hand between Foster and Murray in the 2 spot. Though it might be hard for White to adjust since he's played inside his whole career. I think C-Daddy has a better handle on the situation than any of us anyway.

I'm not sure if that's some sort of racist joke or not, but regardless, it seems most people who looked for a post about the game found their way here. In fact, I thought the title was particularly interesting or intriguing and would give people who don't know or care about Brainerd and Ooltewah a reason to see what was going on vs. a "Brainerd beats Ooltewah 61-60" title. Not to mention that I gave the first team in the title and the second team in the subtitle. And given that we're in a boys' basketball forum, I find it interesting you were surprised that's what we were talking about.

Yea, as I said in the opening post, I know bad calls are going to be made, and I have never complained about poor officiating in a post before. I know this is high school ball and these refs aren't the best in the world. I know I even have a pretty big bias when I watch games in what calls should be made, and if I disagree, I get over it pretty quickly. Even as I saw the ball bounce out of the rim, I thought I saw a Brainerd player going over the back of an Ooltewah player and stood up, I didn't hear the whistle and was mad for a second because of the missed call. But then the thought ran through my head that it would be cheap to win on a last second FT, and was glad that we could see some more great basketball which would hopefully end up with an OHS win. Then I heard the whistle and the ref pointed at an Ooltewah player and I don't think I have ever been more upset at an official. Should Ooltewah have closed the door? Absolutely. They lost it for themselves on the last four or five plays with stupid mistakes. But that ref didn't just make a bad call, he took the game out of the players hands.

Well said by everybody. Ooltewah made some stupid mistakes that definitely let Brainerd back in. As for who would win in OT, it would be hard to say. Ooltewah had both of its centers foul out and would be playing with three forwards, though White was having their way with them. It would have probably come down the FTs the way the refs were calling it. That's another thing that upsets me, as was stated, all Ooltewah had to do was slow the game down and they could easily outscore them from the FT line. For some reason Brainerd was doing terrible from the charity stripe, and weren't hitting their outside shots either, and am disappointed we couldn't capitalize on it. There will be a next time, however, and things will be different.

True, but I think Brainerds luck against Ooltewah has run out. I really can't wait for the next game. There were a couple of issues I took with the game. Whats up with $6 tickets? They're half that for students at OHS. Also, what was up with the lob inbounds late in the 4th quarter? I guess Baker drew that up, but I thought it was a terrible play as Ooltewah was nursing a small lead and the refs were calling everything like they were. Oh well.

I don't think I've ever been so disgusted at the end of a basketball game. It was a great game until the last five seconds with so many lead changes it was exciting. The refs were calling everything and then some the whole time, but it was pretty even. With the game tied, the Owls went for a layup that somehow bounced out and there activity all around the basket as both teams scrambled for the ball. I saw several over the backs and slapped wrists, but I figured the refs were going to let the game play out in OT. I was wrong .Maybe one of them had to get home to watch Matlock or something, I don't know, but they called a foul on Ooltewah and singlehandedly decided the game as both teams were in the penalty. I don't normally complain about officiating, there are plenty of missed calls and bad ones and I take them as they come because its just highschool. But this wasn't just a bad call, it was a bad call that decided the game, which I thought was one of the biggest no-no's for refs. What a crock. All I can do now is wait until Districts, where I'm sure we'll see a motivated Owl squad looking for revenge. Lightning doesn't strike three times in a row.

Last year Ooltewah beat them pretty handily at Temple. I don't know much about Temple or if their team this year is a lot better, but I think I remember Courtney having a good game against them. But we'll see.

I'll have to agree that the officiating was pretty weak. It didn't end up making that much of a difference, but it was. And, for the record, Central doesn't have a very good student section. Even Ooltewah got their student section to stand up for their home game, Central couldn't even do that. The C-men made a little noise, nothing impressive without their barrel. They were too busy paying attention to the Ooltewah student section. And the barrel isn't allowed because its unfair to the players. Imagine if a student section took it upon themselves to bring foghorns to all the games and how distracting it would be. In much the same way, any and all artificial noise-makers shouldn't be used in basketball games. It's not a big deal with football because the field is so large and the fans are a good distance away in the open air. Basketball is different because you're playing in a small gym. Nobody has any problems with you cheering, in fact, it would be a welcome change of pace.

I'm looking forward to it being a good game. You definitely can't count Ooltewah out, especially if they show up to play. Brainerd is definitely the favorite, but anything can happen with this Owls team.

Yea, I'd have to agree, as someone who has been to most all of OHS's games this and last season, this years squad really just doesn't compare. First of all, Moton was one of the smartest, most consistent, hardest playing people I've seen on the court. They lost big when they lost him, not just because of his skills, but because of his leadership ability and grit. You could easily say Miller was better than Foster, though I'm not sure who to give the edge to with Newsome and Brown because they both bring you different things. And Augustino gets the edge over the Murray. (Note: I don't want to give the impression that I'm unimpressed by this years team, because I really do enjoy watching them play and am glad that they have done as well as they have). Also, lest I forget, last year's team had the Old School Ballas behind them, and this year's team has nothing. Most of all, the team lost a lot of its defensive presense. I'm sure Baker would tell you that a thousand times over. I really don't think you know what you're talking about, though. Coming into this season, I was very afraid that Ooltewah would have a weak team and that I wouldnt want to even come to the games, but I have been pleasantly surprised. Sure, they've lost a few they shouldn't have but the seasons are long for this reason. They'll end up 2nd or 3rd in the district and we can go on from there.

I think its fair to mention that Ooltewah brought one in during the half, after Central had been using theirs the entire time. As I thought, Ooltewah didn't really have any problems. In fact, if the Owls had been hitting their open outside shots early on, the margin of victory would have been much greater. To me it seemed that the goals were much lower than they usually are, but maybe it was just the gym being small. Overall, I pretty decent game for the Owls, especially Courtney who seemed to give much more hustle than he usually does. It's too bad the shots weren't falling, and Ooltewah gave up way too many shots close to the basket, but it was worth the trip out there. Both student sections were pretty weak. The whole barrel thing was pretty stupid, and it didn't seem like either section even cared about the game, only about each other.

Red Bank has improved since the beginning of the season and should beat Soddy by 6-8, especially at home.

While its true that Ooltewah lost last night, I think it will give Ooltewah the necessary motivation to come up big against Central, as if they really needed to. Regardless, Owls take this by 10. Make that 12, and add a C-Dubb dunk for good measure. (lets see how long this thread stays on basketball without stupid fans talking trash)