By Michael Lindsay
The Cookeville Cavaliers emerged victorious from one of the Upper Cumberland’s best games of the season on Saturday as they won at Stone Memorial in overtime, 81-75.
“We stayed together,” said Cookeville head coach Joshua Heard. “The boys have a chemistry and connection that good teams have. I’ve told these boys for three years that championship teams are led by players, not coaches, and tonight was an example of that.”
The win avenges a 65-57 loss to the Panthers by Cookeville on Nov. 22 and is Stone Memorial’s first loss on the season (8-1).
Cookeville (4-2) was led by a 40-point performance from Josh Heard, who went 17-18 from the free-throw line in the victory.
“It was a good effort for him,” said coach Heard. “The last time he played here, he left here with one bucket. That was a thing we talked about; we’re not going to walk out of here the same way as last time. He showed up and played, but he never would’ve got that without his teammates rebounding and playing hard.”
Heard wasn’t the only 40-point scorer as Stone Memorial sophomore Cade Capps notched his first 40-point high school game.
“He’s a great player and can shoot from far out,” said coach Heard. “He’s a tough cover. Late in the fourth, we switched and put Josh on him man-to-man, and he kept him in check for the most part. He still had two threes late, though.”
Cookeville’s win was their second victory in a 24-hour stretch as they won at Oakland, 58-41, on Friday.
“We played last night at Oakland and had a great second half,” Heard said. “Then to come here and play an overtime game and finish the way we did, I’m hoping this gives us insight on how hard we need to work going forward. To be able to have fun in the locker room early, that pushes you harder later. We know these games get us ready for our district.”
Saturday’s game saw 27 ties or lead changes with neither team leading by more than 7 points after the first quarter.
After Stone Memorial jumped to an 8-0 lead, Cookeville battled back to take a 16-15 lead at the end of the first period via a Jaren Davis buzzer-beater near midcourt.
Cookeville pushed their lead out to seven points (32-25) midway through the second period and held a 37-34 advantage at halftime.
Following a third quarter that saw 11 ties and lead changes, Stone Memorial held a 49-48 lead going into the fourth period.
Cookeville took a 58-53 lead with 4:40 remaining before Stone Memorial stormed ahead by 3, 65-62, with less than a minute remaining.
Facing a 2-point deficit with 9 seconds left, Cookeville’s Dontae Potts-Heard hit two free throws with 5 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 68 to force overtime.
In overtime, Josh Heard scored 7 of his team’s 13 points to seal the 81-75 Cavalier victory.
Up next, Cookeville hosts York Institute (2-4) in non-district play on Tuesday.
Stone Memorial picks back up in District 7AAA play as they will make the 4-mile trip through Crossville to face Cumberland County.
Cookeville (81): Josh Heard 40, Dontae Potts-Heard 16, Jaren Davis 9, Alex Clark 6, Jack Oakley 5, Bennett Reeves 3, Jalen Heard 2
Stone Memorial. (75): Cade Capps 40, Matthew Bilbrey 11, Jayden Eldridge 6, Conner Bowman 6, Wyatt Grothe 4, Brady Lane 4, Preston Mayberry 3, Blake Holt 1
