Red Bay beats Tharptown boys
By Staff
BELGREEN -The Red Bay seventh-and-eighth-grade boys team got its toughest test of the Franklin County Junior High Basketball Tournament Monday during the finals, but the Tigers pulled away late to earn the title with a 39-25 victory against Tharptown.
It was a special win for Red Bay coach Kevin Morrow, who earned his 100th career victory with the win.
The Tigers led by five at the end of the first quarter, but Tharptown shaved the lead to two by halftime.
Both teams struggled to score in the third quarter and Red Bay entered the final period clinging to a 23-19 advantage.
The Wildcats cut into the lead and trailed 27-25 midway through the final quarter before the Tigers ended the game on a 12-0 run.
Matt Senkbeil and Austin Belue scored nine points each to lead Red Bay while Clay McNatt and Barry Reach scored eight points each.
Also scoring for Red Bay were Buddy Kuykendall (2), Taylor Weclowski (2) and Keenan Sparks (1).
Drake Lawson scored a game-high 13 points for Tharptown while Trenton Borden added six points, Eduardo Saldana scored four points and Adam Borden scored two points.
Tharptown 31,
Vina 25
Tharptown rallied from a 5-1 deficit at the end of the first quarter to beat Vina 31-25 Saturday during the semifinals.
Lawson scored 10 points to lead the Wildcats while Adam Borden and Trenton Borden scored seven points each. Also scoring for Tharptown were Saldana with five points and Mike Rice with two points.
Andrew Hester and R.J. Henderson scored 11 points each for Vina while Hunter Haithcock added two points and Eddie Dees scored one point.
Red Bay 59,
Belgreen 23
The Tigers built a 27-2 lead by the end of the first quarter during Saturday's semifinal game and coasted to a 59-23 win against Belgreen.
Senkbeil scored a game-high 17 points for Red Bay while Reach added 10 and McNatt scored nine. Also scoring for Red Bay were Weclowski (6), Austin Childers (4), Dillon Creekmore (3), Kyle Fuller (3), Belue (2), Dylan Gresham (2), Kuykendall (2) and Tyler Reach (1).
Dustin Proctor scored six points to lead the Bulldogs while Jon Bogus scored five points. Also scoring for Belgreen were Cody Ayers (4), Joseph Gravitt (3), Dakota Leverett (3) and Hugo Castillo (2).
