By Michael Lindsay
Fans got their money’s worth Monday night in Gainesboro as the Jackson County swept a pair of non-district games against Red Boiling Springs. The Lady Devils defeated RBS in overtime, 54-42, before the Blue Devils overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 48-45
Girls
32 minutes weren’t enough to determine a winner in Monday’s Red Boiling Springs at Jackson County girls game as the Lady Devils needed overtime to defeat RBS, 54-42.
Jackson County held a double-digit lead in the third quarter before RBS stormed back to tie the game at 40 points each on a Chloe Powell three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining.
“I was really worried when they banked in that three because the momentum could’ve went their way in overtime,” said 8-time state champion head coach of the Lady Devils Jim Brown. “I thought my kids settled down well and kept their composure and were able to make some plays.”
The Lady Devils outscored Red Boiling Springs 14-2 in the extra period with 10 of the 14 coming from the free throw line.
“I was trying to get them to calm down,” Brown said. “We’re still pretty young and they haven’t been in this situation with a lead. You have to learn how to win in these situations. We were more patient; they came and put more pressure on us and we were able to get a few layups. We did a pretty good job at the free throw line in overtime.”
Forward Erin Davidson led the Lady Devils with 18 points along with 10 from point guard Jalynn Meadows and 9 from Reese Thomas.
“Erin Davidson was all over the place; I think she had a double-double tonight,” Brown said. “Isabelle Beaty did a great job at chasing Chloe Powell around; she’s a great shooter.”
A Thomas buzzer-beating putback tied the game at 10 points each at the end of the first quarter. Jackson County pushed their lead out to 9 points (23-14) by halftime via a Kenley Letterman putback at the buzzer.
Jackson County looked poised to run away with the victory in the third quarter as they pushed their lead out to 13 points, 30-17.
Red Boiling Springs didn’t go away as the Lady Bulldogs fought back to a one-possession deficit (37-35) via a Josie Green three-pointer with 2:09 remaining.
RBS didn’t catch Jackson County until Powell’s three-pointer with 7 seconds left to force overtime, where the Lady Devils pulled away to win 54-42.
Jackson County improves to 3-0 overall with the win while Red Boiling Springs falls to 0-3. Jackson County is scheduled to travel to Van Buren County tonight while RBS is set to host Trousdale County on Friday.
Boys
The Jackson County Blue Devils overcame a double-digit deficit against Red Boiling Springs Friday to defeat the Bulldogs, 48-45.
“These young kids hung in there and kept fighting,” said Jackson County head coach Kevin Thomas. “They didn’t get down on themselves. I thought they were resilient and they were very coachable.”
Jackson County forward Will McCrary led the Devils with 21 points while Colton Copas led RBS with 25.
“The biggest thing was trying to get the ball to Will McCrary inside and they really started helping,” Thomas said. “When they did, we were able to make some threes to change the game. We made some timely threes to make a difference.”
A Copas buzzer-beater gave Red Boiling Springs a 17-6 lead after one quarter. The Bulldogs pushed their advantage to double-digits midway through the second quarter (25-15) before taking a 30-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
RBS led 41-33 entering the fourth quarter and went ahead by 10 points (43-33) on a putback by Copas early in the frame.
Jackson County dialed in from there as a McCrary and-one with 6:14 remaining sparked an 11-0 run over the next 3 minutes capped off by an Alex Meadow three-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 44-43 lead with 3:14 remaining.
“Huge play by Alex,” Thomas said, “We found him inside out and he was ready to shoot it.”
A Chris Hackney floater retook the lead for RBS (45-44) before a McCrary basket in the paint put Jackson County back up 46-45 with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Jackson County’s Parker Patterson and Alex Meadows each made a free throw in the final 2 minutes to put their team ahead 48-45 with 15 seconds left.
Red Boiling Springs would have an inbounds pass near midcourt with 1.6 seconds remaining, but the pass was stolen by McCrary to preserve the 48-45 victory for Jackson County.
“Having Isaiah Thomas to foul there with 1.6 seconds was huge,” coach Thomas said. “They’ve been extremely coachable since the summer and I really feel like this group has those intangibles to be a really nice team.”
Jackson County improves to 2-2 overall and travels to Van Buren County tonight while Red Boiling Springs will host Trousdale County on Friday.
