Cosby Eagles in Maynardville

[PTSportsWriter]

A 23-point win (86-63 final score) on day number one over Cherokee (of District 2-AAA) for Cosby (District 3-A).

 

Kelvin Rone hit three 3-point baskets and a field goal for 11 first-quarter points to start the Eagles.

 

Timmy Blakely was limited in the first-half, picked up two fouls in the first seven minutes.

 

Mattered little, as Cosby opened up a 17-4 lead early.

 

Dexter Manning had 30 allowing Cosby to dominate the Chiefs.

 

I'll have more details later..

Edited December 27, 2005 by PTSportsWriter

[old24eagle]

Good job EAGLES!! another big win over a larger school.

[PTSportsWriter]

Eagles dominate Cherokee; Lady Eagles lose heartbreaker

By SETH BUTLER

NPT Sports Writer

 

MAYNARDVILLE – The Christmas turkeys and hams were already served up this past weekend. Monday afternoon likely saw leftovers in the form of a turkey sandwich served up.

 

Tuesday, the Cosby High School Eagles served up a little notice to all of East Tennessee at the Patriot Invitational at Union County High School and Cherokee High School was the involuntary whipping boy.

 

The Eagles demolished the Inter Mountain Athletic Conference’s [District 2-AAA] Cherokee in every facet of the game for an 86-63 drubbing of the Chiefs.

 

The win marked Cosby’s second win over an IMAC foe in 14 days. The Eagles narrowly defeated Morristown East on December 13 in Morristown.

 

Meanwhile two last-minute turnovers cost the Lady Eagles a chance to climb over the .500 mark, as they fell to the Lady Chiefs of Cherokee 58-56.

 

Eagles bash Cherokee

 

If there were any worries of a letdown from last Monday’s second-half collapse in a loss to Pigeon Forge, they were quickly dashed on Tuesday morning.

 

The Eagles (10-1) bolted out to a 10-0 lead two and a half minutes into the contest and eventually built that lead into a 17-4 six minutes in, that eventually turned into the 26-point rout. More amazingly than the offensive output, was that Cosby turned the outing in despite losing key minutes from two scoring threats in foul trouble.

 

Most of that first quarter work was accomplished by 13 points by Kelvin Rone. The Cosby junior drained a three-point shot to get the Eagles on the scoreboard, and sank 10 more points in the quarter, including another pair of three-point shots, getting the ball rolling for the big win over Cherokee (8-5).

 

“It was a good bounce back win for us after that second half against Pigeon Forge,” said Cosby head coach Richard Coggins. “Kelvin really got us going in the first quarter, and from there we stuck to our game plan with our usual offense and our zone defense.”

 

And sticking to that game plan may be like a road map to the Promised Land, as that game plan unfurled on Tuesday showed the ability for the Eagles to run the floor with a wide open offense with many scoring options, combined with a steady defense.

 

And the Eagles still put up 86 points with two of their scoring options limited. With Blakely and Rone picking up a pair of first-half fouls, both saw their offensive production limited – with Blakely scoring five for the game and Rone’s first quarter total of 13 wind up as his final total.

 

With those two reliable options on the sidelines, it was the other two reliable scoring options in Dexter Manning and Todd Jenkins delivering the blows to the Chiefs.

 

Manning scored 12 first half points, using his decisive speed advantage to beat the Cherokee defenders to the bucket while Jenkins scored seven in the half.

 

But with Cosby in foul trouble, Cherokee made things interesting – pulling to 38-33 at the intermission, before the Eagles made quick work of the Chiefs, going back to that reliable one-two punch of Manning and Jenkins.

 

Manning again used his speed to set the table, to drive to the bucket and draw a foul and connect on his free throws, or drive to the basket and use the dribble-penetration to draw defenders toward him and away from Jenkins, who also made driving to the hoop a primary habit in the second half.

 

Manning used the free-throws to score 17 second-half points (14-of-15 FT shooting in the half), while Jenkins used a combination of free-throws, lay-ins and three-point baskets for 17.

 

Also adding steady hands to the Cosby attack were seniors Matthew McGaha with eight points and Dwight Hewitt with four points. Hewitt, Cosby’s fifth – and somewhat unheralded – starter also tallied 11 rebounds on the day, and came up with several key takeaways.

 

“Dwight’s just done great for us,” said Coggins. “He’s done a solid job helping us in that fifth spot. You don’t hear a lot about him, but he’s making a difference in there for us right now.”

 

And with the Eagles offense scoring seemingly at will – it was the Cosby defense that made a significant difference.

 

Cosby used a zone-defense to eliminate the height advantage Cherokee claimed with 6-4 post Nick Day, 6-5 post Casey Sivert and 6-5 post Chasten Hale. The zone allowed Darren Haun and Trey Fields to hit several three-pointers but eliminated the Chiefs inside production to 19 points.

 

And add that to running the floor with Cherokee – taking the Chiefs out of their usual half-court man-to-man game – Cosby befuddled the Chiefs into making 13 turnovers compared to 10 for Cosby, four of which came in the final two minutes.

 

“We just stuck to our game plan today,” said Coggins. “That’s what we have to do to win.”

 

Cherokee was led in scoring by Brian Milan with 15, with Haun scoring 12 and Sivert adding 11. Seth Ewing scored nine, as Day scored eight, Fields added five and Hale scored three.

 

Cosby was led by Manning’s game-high 30 points and Jenkins 23. Rone tossed in 13 points, as McGaha scored eight. Blakely scored five points, on only two field-goal attempts, and had nine rebounds. Hewitt scored four points with Jody Lowe adding two and Cody Lowe scoring one.

 

Lady Eagles drop heartbreaker

 

For a team that has dropped two consecutive heartbreakers, the going is getting rather frustrating for the Lady Eagles.

 

Off an overtime loss to Pigeon Forge last week, Tuesday’s match-up with Cherokee (6-7) saw several golden opportunities passed up as the Lady Eagles (5-6) dropped the game 58-56 in regulation.

 

The Lady Eagles shot 6-of-24 from three-point range for the game, but even with those misses, the only two Cosby fourth quarter turnovers were the difference in the game.

 

Cosby clung to a late lead before the Lady Chief’s Shantel Hodge evened the game at 56 all with two made free-throws with 53 seconds remaining. Then disaster struck.

 

Trying to keep the basketball and work for a near last-second shot, point guard Whitney Hartsell’s pass was intercepted with 32 seconds to play. The ensuing play saw Hodge fouled on a lay-up, putting the Lady Chiefs sophomore back at the free-throw line. Hodge nailed the first attempt and missed the second giving Cherokee a one-point lead with 17 seconds left.

 

Lindsey Hall corralled the rebound but found no one to pass the ball off to leading to the 6-2 Lady Eagles post player attempting to dribble across the court. The somewhat ill-advised move saw Hall lose control and Cherokee’s Ashlee Price regain control.

 

Price was fouled and made one of her two free-throws giving the Lady Chiefs a 58-56 lead with 6.8 seconds left to play. Cosby’s Sheila Vasquez took the inbounds pass and dribbled across the court, instead of passing off or attempting to drive inside, Vasquez took a long three-point shot with two seconds remaining that landed short ending the game.

 

The Lady Eagles had their chances however, to say the least.

 

Cosby led 17-13 after one quarter as the Lady Eagles took advantage of the low-post game seeing Whitney Hannah and Hall score five points each in the period.

 

But that low-post advantage shifted sidelines in the second quarter, as Cherokee became patient and worked the ball inside, while Cosby seemed to settle for the long, low-percentage shots. The transition in the game may have been marked by the foul trouble for Cosby’s Keisha Chandler who picked up three fouls – two of which were questionable in the first half.

 

Cosby was only 3-of-14 from the field in the second quarter and trailed 27-24 at the intermission.

 

Both teams were evenly matched in the third quarter with Cherokee holding a 15-14 advantage in the quarter.

 

However, the Lady Chiefs kept their lead afloat with their success at the free-throw line. Cherokee made 25 trips to the free-throw line, making 15, while the Lady Eagles were just 4-of-6. The Lady Chiefs committed only seven fouls in the game, despite a semi-aggressive defensive approach.

 

Despite that, the Lady Eagles did cling to a late lead, before seeing the Lady Chiefs battle back and into the lead in the final minute with the two untimely Cosby miscues.

 

Cherokee had three players reach double-digits in points as Price scored 19, Asia Avery scored 17 and Amber Anderson scored 13. Hodge added seven while Kayla Harrell added two points.

 

Cosby was paced by 16 points from Hannah and 11 from Hall. Chandler and Hartsell scored eight points each, with Macie Webb scoring five. Stevie Gorrell scored three points, with Sheila Vasquez and Mindy Hunt adding two points each and Megan Williams scoring one.

 

Up Next

 

The Eagles and Lady Eagles return to action on Thursday as the round-robin format Patriot Invitational action continues, with the Lady Eagles going against Burgin, Kentucky (5-4) at 4 p.m., while the Eagles will face Raceland, Kentucky (5-5) at 5:30 p.m.

Edited December 28, 2005 by PTSportsWriter

[CosbyEagle]

Up Next

 

The Eagles and Lady Eagles return to action on Thursday as the round-robin format Patriot Invitational action continues, with the Lady Eagles going against Burgin, Kentucky (5-4) at 4 p.m., while the Eagles will face Raceland, Kentucky (5-5) at 5:30 p.m.

 

Thanks for the update. My work schedule is going to make me miss all of these games this week. I look foward to hearing about the next two.

(don't worry we'll still buy a PT)

[CosbyEagle]

any updates on tonight's game...???

[rSquared]

Cosby held on to win a close one over a tough Raceland, KY team. Don't remember the final score, but Cosby led by double digits for a good portion of the game, only to see Raceland make a serious run at the end. A couple of mental breakdowns by some Cosby players allowed Raceland to nearly pull this one out.

First time I've seen the Eagles this year and they are a VERY GOOD team! #21 is lights out from 3-point land and #44 also shoots a nice looking trey. A couple of big men playing well in the post (don't remember their numbers, #33 might've been one of them maybe?) also.

Cosby finishes out the tourney by playing Rutledge at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow, immediately after the Cosby girls game at 1:00. And, FYI, the Cosby girls won big today over Burgin, KY.

[statmaster]

Cosby held on to win a close one over a tough Raceland, KY team. Don't remember the final score, but Cosby led by double digits for a good portion of the game, only to see Raceland make a serious run at the end. A couple of mental breakdowns by some Cosby players allowed Raceland to nearly pull this one out.

First time I've seen the Eagles this year and they are a VERY GOOD team! #21 is lights out from 3-point land and #44 also shoots a nice looking trey. A couple of big men playing well in the post (don't remember their numbers, #33 might've been one of them maybe?) also.

Cosby finishes out the tourney by playing Rutledge at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow, immediately after the Cosby girls game at 1:00. And, FYI, the Cosby girls won big today over Burgin, KY.

Congrats to Cosby from Raceland , Ky. Our boys are small but they play with heart. What can you tell me about Union County?

[PTSportsWriter]

Cosby held on to win a close one over a tough Raceland, KY team. Don't remember the final score, but Cosby led by double digits for a good portion of the game, only to see Raceland make a serious run at the end. A couple of mental breakdowns by some Cosby players allowed Raceland to nearly pull this one out.

First time I've seen the Eagles this year and they are a VERY GOOD team! #21 is lights out from 3-point land and #44 also shoots a nice looking trey. A couple of big men playing well in the post (don't remember their numbers, #33 might've been one of them maybe?) also.

Cosby finishes out the tourney by playing Rutledge at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow, immediately after the Cosby girls game at 1:00. And, FYI, the Cosby girls won big today over Burgin, KY.

 

Good to hear.

 

21 - Todd Jenkins and 24- Dexter Manning are Cosby's best two perimeter scorers, and when both get hot, look out. But 44 - Kelvin Rone may have the best pure shot on the team. And when he gets hot, he could score 40+.

 

Two post men are 33 - Dwight Hewitt and 11 - Timmy Blakely. Blakely's been mentioned here before, but Hewitts really doing a nice job.

 

I had wondered about that fifth spot, and who would be the man to win the job for Cosby. Dwight has stepped in - and not only won the job - but won it pretty handedly. Dwight's been pretty overlooked his career, didnt play much last year, and I'm glad he's getting playing time and showing what he can do as well.

 

He's not going to score 15-20 a game, but he'll be good for 10+ rebounds, 4-5 steals and a lot of good defensive play and setting screens on offense.

 

Kind of a Dane Bradshaw type guy for Cosby. stat lines won't always impress, but the hustle will.

[UCHSPAtriots]

not to go off subject but union co. beat university school tonight