Red Bay loses to Cold Springs; Roberts career comes to end
By Bart Moss for the FCT
The Red Bay Tigers quest for another shot at a state championship and the storied career of Donnie Roberts came to a bitter end in the semi-finals of the Northwest Regional basketball tournament Thursday night with Tigers falling to the Cold Springs Eagles 39-36.
It was a classic duel between to familiar playoff foes with neither team gaining a clear advantage throughout the evening. The biggest lead Red Bay would get was nine points early in the second quarter. That lead was quickly erased by the Eagles. Cold Springs took the lead late in the third quarter briefly and took the lead for good at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Tigers used the three-point shot to gain the early advantage over Cold Springs. Allie Kennedy hit two three’s and Darby Madden made one three and a two point basket to give Red Bay a 11-9 first quarter lead. The Tigers went on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter to give Red Bay an 18-9 advantage with 5:47 to go in the first half. The Eagles closed out the half with a run of their own. Cold Springs outscored Red Bay 6-2 in the last five minutes of the first half to cut Red Bay’s advantage to 20-15 at halftime.
Red Bay had extended their lead to 27-22 midway through the third quarter on free throws by Reagan Kuykendall. From that point, the game started to turn on the Tigers. Cold Springs tied the game at 27-27 with 2:31 to go in the third quarter. The Eagles gained the lead on a basket by Emme Willoughby with 00:44 to go in the third to make the score 29-28 Cold Springs. Red Bay regained the lead with a shot at the buzzer by Madden to make the score 30-29 Red Bay going into the fourth quarter.
Cold Springs went on a 8-0 run to start the final period to give the Eagles a 37-30 lead. Red Bay stopped the slide with a score by Madden in the paint with 4:43 to go in the game. Red Bay cut Cold Springs’ lead to 39-36 on a three-point shot by Kennedy with 00:40 to go in the game. The Eagles game the Tigers one last shot missing two free throws with 00:34 to go in the game. Shots by Kennedy and Morgan Pierce fell short as the Tigers season came to an end.
Madden led Red Bay with 14 points. Kuykendall followed with 13 points. Kennedy ended the game with nine points.
Emme Willoughby and Elizabeth Hill led Cold Springs with 17 points and 15 points respectively.
Roberts career has spanned 45 years winning 27 Franklin County championships, 20 area championships, and four state championships.
