Belgreen gets big wins over county rival Red Bay
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
The Belgreen Lady Bulldogs had to fend off a fourth quarter comeback to get their first win over their county rival Red Bay Friday night, 55-53.
“It was a typical first game,” said Belgreen coach Chad Green. “We made a lot of mistakes we need to get corrected. I was pleased with our pressure defense. We caused some turnovers late that were big for us. We missed too many free throws. We have to make those shots going forward.”
Belgreen made 16 of 31 shots from the free throw stripe.
Red Bay led Belgreen 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 14-11 in the second quarter to take a 24-23 lead at halftime.
Red Bay took a seven-point lead early in the third quarter, but Belgreen eventually outpaced the Tigers 22-13 to take a ten-point lead, 46-36, into the final period of play.
The Tigers mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, taking a three-point lead with less than 30 seconds to go in the game. Some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped the Bulldogs to the win.
“Gracie Dempsey and Jasmine Martin hit some big free throws down the stretch,” said Green. “Ansley Tate came open on an in-bounds-under play and hit a bank shot to win the game for us.”
Martin led Belgreen with 15 points. She was followed by Tate with 11 points. Katie Dempsey and Gracie Dempsey scored eight points each. Autumn Bragwell had five points. Gabbie Moore and Emma Dempsey finished with two points each. Emma Willingham added two points.
Savannah Shaw and Reagan Kuykendall led Red Bay with 13 points each. They were followed by Carlie Lindley, who had 12 points. Macy Faulkner finished with seven points, Mallori Miller had six points, and Destiny McCollister contributed two points.
The Belgreen Bulldogs varsity boys team had to make a fourth quarter comeback to grab their own season-opening win over the Red Bay Tigers, 56-53.
Facing an eight-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, Belgreen coach Clint Isbell calmed his team down and told them to play their game.
“I told them that we were fine and that they had to believe that we were going to win the game,” said Isbell. “We had a lot of first-game jitters and excitement, and we didn’t shoot well to start the game.
“Red Bay has improved tremendously. They play really hard and are well-coached. We just kept battling and found a way to win.”
Red Bay took an 18-13 first-quarter lead and extended that lead to 37-26 by halftime. The Bulldogs began to chip away the Tigers’ lead in the third quarter, outscoring Red Bay 12-9 to cut the lead to 46-38 heading into the final period of play. Belgreen outscored Red Bay 18-7 in the fourth quarter to get the three-point lead.
“Everyone stepped up in the fourth quarter,” said Isbell. “We took a few charges and were able to foul out Red Bay’s top two players. Brant (Bragwell) and Jacob (Mayberry) stepped up offensively and pushed the ball up the floor. Payton Scott hit a big jump shot with about two minutes to go to put us up by one point. Seth Taylor hit two big free throws with a few seconds left to seal the win.”
Bragwell led Belgreen with 18 points. Mayberry and Mason Bragwell followed with 14 points each. Scott had seven points, and Seth Taylor had three points.
Clay Allison led Red Bay with 16 points, followed by Gath Weatherfor (15), Colton Corum (11), Noah Brewer (3), Hunter Bays (3), Braden Ray (3) and Peyton Green (2).
B-Varsity Boys: Red Bay 41, Belgreen 34
The Red Bay Tigers picked up their second win of the season with a 41-34 win over Belgreen Friday night. Lane Shewbart led the Tigers with 14 points. Isac Willingham led Belgreen with 13 points. Tanner Warhurst had 12 points.
