Inconsistent.
For a team that’s had five coaches in six years, few opportunities for summer workouts with those coaches and half its roster comprised of football players that advanced to the second round of the state playoffs this fall, that’s an appropriate descriptive.
And it fits Mt. Pleasant, as the Tigers struggled offensively in their Tuesday matchup against Upperman to open the Richland Christmas Tournament – compiling nearly as many turnovers as points in an eventual 65-34 loss.
Coming off an 11-day layoff, Mt. Pleasant gave up 11 unanswered points in the opening quarter against the Bees. That was a hump that the Tigers never got over, but just to be sure, the boys from Baxter (just outside of Cookeville) went on a 19-0 fourth-period run and extended an 18-point third-quarter margin to the point of invoking the mercy-rule running clock for the final four minutes.
“Some of it was being rusty,” said junior Nick Brown, one of Mt. Pleasant’s multi-sport athletes, who finished with a game-high 10 points – all coming in the third quarter – in the loss. “Execution was a huge part of it. We’ve got to get better at that.
“In the first half, we were missing shots, turning the ball over, not executing, not being our best selves.”
Mt. Pleasant (5-6) committed 13 turnovers in the opening two periods, helping Upperman get into transition and build a 30-10 halftime cushion.
The Tigers did get some traction offensively coming out of intermission, cutting the deficit to 38-24 just inside the three-minute mark on back-to-back Brown baskets, but the Bees (9-1) responded with seven straight points – including consecutive Jaxson Bush 3-pointers – before pouring it on and pulling away in the final period.
“We have trouble scoring sometimes,” first-year Mt. Pleasant coach Steve Crowder said. “We still haven’t been together that long. We’re trying to see what we need to do to change rotations. We’re looking at different ways of changing some things.
“We haven’t shot the ball well, but it’s not like we can’t shoot. We’re still trying to get that football out of some of them. The kids play hard, but we’ve got to be able to put the ball in the hole. But it’ll click. We just want to be ready for the next month and we’re trying to see what we need to get better at.”
Summertown girls blast Huntland: With five 3-pointers in the opening period and 11 for the game, Summertown quickly and firmly took control for an eventual 79-26 victory over the Lady Hornets.
“We shot the ball pretty well,” Lady Eagles coach Jeremy Jean said after six different Summertown players accounted for the long-distance damage. “We’re capable of making that many 3s; we just hadn’t done it. We’ve got a lot of kids that can make 3s.”
Ansley Burleson scored a game-high 14 points for Summertown (10-4), with Ella Busby, Karlie Campbell and Emily Brazier each finishing in double figures and each hitting multiple treys.
Huntland slipped to 11-6 with the loss.
Save the best for last: In a day largely absent of close contests, the boys finale tried to make up for it.
Summertown and Huntland played a seesaw battle, with the Eagles overcoming a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime before the Hornets got away with an 82-80 victory.
Vanderbilt baseball commit Grayson Burleson scored a game-high 36 points and had the ball in his hands often during the final period of regulation and in overtime, but Zack Golden led four Hornet double-digit scorers and that offensive balance proved to be the difference.
Upperman boys 65, Mt. Pleasant 34
M 6 4 17 7 – 34
U 17 13 15 20 – 65
Mt. Pleasant (34) – Keevan Cooper 2, Micah Dale 2, Nick Brown 10, Hayden Holt 5, Jakyri McClure 2, Jayden McClure 4, Hardin Hughes 2, Gavin Alderson 7
Upperman (65) – Branson Turnbow 7, Jack Torrence 1, Hayden Petty 8, Jaxson Bush 13, Kameron Bush 3, Clayton Harris 6, Brayden Roberts 19, Bronzden Chaffin 8
3-pointers – Mt. Pleasant 1 (Holt), Upperman 9 (Turnbow, Petty 2, J. Bush 2, K. Bush, Roberts 3)
Summertown girls 79, Huntland 26
H 6 5 9 6 – 26
S 33 12 18 16 – 79
Huntland (26) – Jacey Riley 2, Riley Maxwell 2, Maddie Burks 2, Logan McLennan 7, Bailey Morris 2, Morgan Sanders 4, Yareli Avalos 7
Summertown (79) – Karlie Campbell 10, Emily Brazier 10, Ansley Burleson 14, Mia Dinwiddie 2, Rylie Blackwood 3, Alivia Riggs 8, McKenzie Runnels 4, Ella Busby 11, Reese Wilson 6, Abbie Shaffer 6, Olivia Woods 3, Chloe Heatherly 2
3-pointers – Huntland 0, Summertown 11 (Campbell 2, Brazier 2, Burleson, Riggs 2, Busby 3, Woods)
Huntland boys 82, Summertown 80 (OT)
S 22 15 17 19 7 – 80
H 20 17 19 17 9 – 82
Summertown (80) – Weston Pigg 4, Cole Campbell 10, Jackson Bennett 5, Grayson Burleson 36, Kurt Burleson 25
Huntland (82) – Braylen Phillips 17, Eli Wiggs 14, Zack Golden 24, Cade Limbaugh 3, Trace Kilpatrick 7, LaShawn Kimmons 14, Kannon LaFevers 3
3-pointers – Summertown 4 (Bennett, G. Burleson, K. Burleson 2), Huntland 4 (Phillips, Golden 2, Limbaugh)
Richland girls 53, Cornersville 29
C 10 6 3 10 – 29
R 18 15 14 6 – 53
Cornersville (29) – Abigail Finley 2, Jayli Childress 2, Emma Dunnivant 2, Katie Powers 4, Annabelle Mulliniks 3, Alicia Polk 4, Anna Wood 8, Ady Gentry 4
Richland (53) – Gracie Braden 9, Katie Garner 15, Katelyn Bass 4, Kristen Garner 3, Shelby Higgins 12, Bailey Blair 7, Danica Bridgers 3
3-pointers – Cornersville 3 (Mulliniks, Wood 2), Richland 9 (Ka. Garner 5, Kr. Garner, Higgins, Blair, Bridgers)
Columbia Central boys 90, Cornersville 40
Cl 27 21 22 20 – 90
Cr 14 1 6 8 – 40
Columbia Central (90) – Jordan Davis 10, Malachi Horton 13, Jhrevious Hall 9, Kenneth Jackson 6, Quandrees Peete 10, Koda Cutlip 14, Jacoby Webster 3, Kayden McCoy 2, Isaiah Humes 2, DeKelan Armstrong 8, Damarion Polk 6, Akai Hunt 7
Cornersville (40) – Franklin 9, Lovell 4, Woodard 2, Neat 7, Adcox 3, Uland 3, Courtemarche 2, Ford 10
3-pointers – Columbia Central 11 (Davis 2, Horton 3, Peete 2, Webster, Polk 2, Hunt), Cornersville 5 (Franklin, Neat, Adcox, Ford 2)
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