Stone Memorial Defeats Sevier County in Maryville Tourney Semis, 73-61

By Michael Lindsay

The Stone Memorial Panthers have advanced to tonight’s Maryville Christmas Classic championship game following a 73-61 victory over Sevier County in Wednesday’s semifinals.

“I knew even though Sevier is really young, they’re well coached,” said Stone Memorial head coach Neil Capps. “They were going to fight for 32 minutes. I knew when we had a 20-point lead in the third, it wouldn’t last.

“I was tickled with our guys after a 10-day layoff,” Capps added. “I was pleased with how my guys took care of the ball down the stretch.”

Sophomore Cade Capps led the Panthers in scoring with 19, followed by 14 points from guard Preston Mayberry off the bench and 14 by forward Brady Lane. Matthew Bilbrey also hit double-figures with 11.

Stone Memorial hit the ground running offensively as they led 23-14 after the first quarter. They maintained their double-digit lead at halftime as they led 45-30.

After the break, the Panthers pushed their lead out to over 20 points before Sevier County trimmed their deficit to 60-44 by the end of the third.

“We rolled off about 8 or 10 points in a row,” Capps said. “We’ve got a lot of experienced guys that can handle those situations. We were cleaner down the stretch after we got settled in.”

In the fourth period, the Panthers finished strong, winning by a 73-61 final.

Maryville is going to be eager to get back at us,” Capps said. “They’ve got their best player back from football.”

Stone Memorial faces Maryville at 6:45 CST.

Stone Memorial (73): Cade Capps 19, Preston Mayberry 14, Brady Lane 14, Matthew Bilbrey 11, Wyatt Grothe 6, Jayden Eldridge 4, Blake Holt 3, Conner Bowman 2

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