Instant classic

By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
BELGREEN - Belgreen and Red Bay have played many memorable games over the past few years.
Tuesday's contest may have topped them all.
In a game bursting with emotion, intensity and heart-pounding action, Kurt Kennedy's free throw with 31 seconds remaining gave the visiting Tigers a thrilling 58-57 win as they remained unbeaten in area play.
"That was a great game," said exhausted Red Bay coach Rory Carpenter after watching his Tigers (7-4, 4-0 Class 2A, Area 16) rally from 11 points down at the end of the first quarter. "A great game for the fans, a great game for Franklin County. It gives you an idea of what the county tournament is going to be like, of what the area tournament is going to be like."
The two teams could play a hundred more times this season and have a hard time matching the show they put on Tuesday.
After a near-perfect first quarter staked the Bulldogs (4-9, 4-3) to a 21-10 lead, Red Bay battled back with a ferocious defense to claim a five-point advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
"Hats off to Belgreen. They did a tremendous job tonight," Carpenter said. "Coach Pounders thought they could take advantage of our post players inside, and that's exactly what they did in the first quarter. They really took it to us. We tightened up on defense and fought our way back into it.
"I'm proud of our kids for the effort they gave. They laid it all on the line. I couldn't ask for a better performance on defense."
The Bulldogs mounted a rally of their own in the fourth quarter, reclaiming the lead at 55-54 on a sensational three-point play by Nathan Hamilton with 1:54 remaining.
Josh Smith's layup at the 1:00 mark pushed the lead to three, but Kennedy promptly nailed his fourth three-pointer of the night to tie the game.
After Cody Rikard's three-point attempt rimmed out, Kennedy was fouled on the rebound and sank the second of two free throws to give Red Bay a one-point lead.
The Bulldogs called timeout to set up a final play but turned the ball over with two seconds remaining before they could attempt a shot.
Kennedy finished with a game-high 25 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
"Kennedy was outstanding," Belgreen coach Steve Pounders said after his team dropped its fifth straight game, the last four by a total of 12 points. "He beat us tonight. He made four threes, and two of them were huge. And they weren't from right at the three-point line either. They were from five or six feet behind the line. And when he wasn't scoring, he was making somebody else score."
That somebody else was often senior forward Matt Hester, whom Kennedy repeatedly found behind the Belgreen defense for easy baskets in transition.
"The position Matt fills on our break is called 'running guard,'" Carpenter said. "It's kind of funny to have a defensive tackle playing a position called 'running guard,' but he did a great job of hustling up and down the floor tonight. We like for Kurt to bring the ball up on the right-hand side, and obviously [Belgreen] was focused on stopping him. I would be, too. We were able to find Matt on the back side a few times and get some easy baskets."
Pounders said that Belgreen's failure to get back on defense was costly.
"We gave up way too many layups tonight," he said. "Red Bay beat us down the floor too many times. I know they're quicker than us, but we have to do a better job of getting back on defense."
The win puts the Tigers squarely in the driver's seat halfway through their area schedule.
"This was a very important win for us," said Hester, who finished with a season-high 15 points. "We've beaten Belgreen twice now, and we're still undefeated in the area. We still have four games left, but if we can win two more we'll clinch first place in the area. Then we could have the area tournament on our home floor and hopefully move on to bigger and better things."
It was evident just how crushing the loss was for the Bulldogs as player after player filed silently out of the lockerroom with tear-stained faces, another razor-thin defeat to ponder.
"This win would have meant a lot to us," Pounders acknowledged. "We've had several of these close games lately, and we just can't seem to get over the hump. We're going to have to overcome that and win one of these close ones.
"Our guys are playing extremely hard. We're just coming up a little bit short."
The Bulldogs came out with a lot of energy, intent on avenging their 64-57 loss at Red Bay on December 7.
Josh Smith had eight points in the first quarter as Belgreen raced to a double-digit lead. The Bulldogs' last six baskets of the opening quarter were layups.
"We wanted to come out and try to get the ball inside to our post guys," Pounders said. "We did a good job of that in the first quarter, but Red Bay made some good adjustments over the last three quarters."
The Tigers held Belgreen to just 16 points in the second and third quarter combined.
Hamilton's jumper over Kennedy with one second left gave Belgreen a 30-23 halftime lead.
Randy Lowery opened the second half with five straight points as Red Bay's comeback began in earnest. Kennedy drained two three-pointers, including a pull-up trey on the break that gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening minutes of the game at 38-36.
Red Bay out-scored the Bulldogs 19-7 in the third quarter to take a 42-37 lead.
Kelsey Motes sparked Belgreen with a couple of baskets early in the fourth quarter, and Josh Smith made three straight buckets to cut Red Bay's lead to one at 48-47.
Smith finished with 22 points to lead Belgreen, and Hamilton added 12. Rikard and Avis Smith each had nine.
Lowery had 12 points for Red Bay.
The Tigers can move a step closer to clinching first place in the area when they host Cherokee tonight. Belgreen plays at Colbert Heights.
In other local action on Tuesday:
Athens 64 Russellville 38
Athens out-scored the Golden Tigers 33-12 in the second half to pull away for the win.
Corey Trapp led Russellville (4-2, 0-1 Class 5A, Area 16) with nine points. Siran Winston and Jarrell Nesmith each added seven.
Richard Hendrix led Athens with 19 points.
Hackleburg 61 Vina 40
Ryan Umfress led Vina with 16 points, and Kerry Lawler added 10.
Brandon Clement led Hackleburg (11-3) with 12 points.