By Michael Lindsay
The UC #1-ranked Stone Memorial Panthers improved to 10-0 in District 7AAA play Tuesday evening as they defeated Upperman, 56-43.
Despite the double-digit victory, the Panthers (20-3, 10-0) trailed Upperman (16-6, 6-3) in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve known since they were our next opponent that they were going to come ready to fight and compete,” said Stone Memorial head coach Neil Capps. “Coach Bobby McWilliams does a great job; they executed well and gave us everything we wanted.”
Stone Memorial was led in scoring by senior guard Matthew Bilbrey, who posted 19 points in the victory. Bilbrey also hit a career milestone late in the second quarter as a right-handed layup gave him his 1,000th career point.
“I’m happy for him. When he showed up as a freshman, he was 5’7” and weighed 94 pounds,” Capps said. “He’s been around a bunch of really good players, and to do that is a special deal.”
Sophomore Cade Capps, who also has 1,000 career points, scored 16 points for the Panthers on Tuesday.
Leading Upperman was Hayden Petty with 13 points, followed by Bronzden Chaffin with 12.
It was the Bees who controlled the early portions of Tuesday’s game as they led 9-2 two minutes into the contest.
Stone Memorial caught up and took a 13-11 lead via a Bilbrey transition layup before Upperman’s Brayden Roberts finished an and-one at the buzzer to give the Bees a 14-13 lead.
Neither team led by more than a possession in the second period as the teams went to the locker room tied at 25.
“We got off to a very slow start,” coach Capps said. “They made us defend for long possessions and sometimes we got a little impatient. I’m pleased with how we were able to sustain that tempo and defend.”
The Panthers came out of the locker room strong as a Blake Holt and-one and reverse layup gave Stone Memorial a 36-28 lead midway through the third period.
Upperman responded to their 8-point deficit with a strong close to the third quarter, trimming Stone’s lead to 3 points (40-37) by the end of the frame.
The Bees caught the Panthers and took a 43-42 lead via a Chaffin putback with less than 6 minutes remaining.
Bilbrey answered with a layup with 5:13 left to retake a 44-43 lead for the Panthers, a lead they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the game.
“We were able to get a lead and that forced them to speed up a little,” Capps said. “I was pleased with how we were consistent defensively.”
Stone Memorial closed out the final 6 minutes of the game on a 12-0 run to win by a 56-43 final.
“There’s no such thing as a bad win,” Capps said. “This will give us a lot to work on. That’s the good thing about playing in a league like this; you’re going to get everybody’s best effort. You’ve got great coaches that will put you in rough situations. That makes you better as a team.”
Stone Memorial hosts Macon County on Friday while Upperman hosts Cumberland County.
Stone Memorial (56): Matthew Bilbrey 19, Cade Capps 16, Preston Mayberry 8, Blake Holt 5, Conner Bowman 4, Brady Lane 4
Upperman (43): Hayden Petty 13, Bronzden Chaffin 12, Brayden Roberts 6, Jaxson Bush 5, Clayton Harris 4, Bronson Turnbow 3
