By Michael Lindsay
The Upperman Bees took the floor in the Lenoir City Christmas Classic Wednesday afternoon for their first post-Christmas contest as they defeated Kingston in overtime, 68-64.
“I didn’t really know what to expect out of our guys,” said Upperman head coach Bobby McWilliams. “They (Kingston) play really fast and we knew that could be a problem. It took us a little bit to get our second wind.”
Upperman (9-3) was led against Kingston (10-4) by a 26-point performance from Braden Roberts along with 19 points and 8 assists from Ty Cobb.
“We played nine guys,” said McWilliams. “Our football kids are getting back into the groove and they all contributed. Without depth today, there’s no way we win this game. Braden was spectacular today and did everything pretty well.”
The Yellow Jackets held an 8-point lead at the end of the first quarter following an Aaron Layne buzzer-beater to put Kingston ahead 15-7.
Upperman trailed the Yellow Jackets by double digits early in the second quarter as a pair of free throws gave Kingston a 23-13 lead with 5:37 left until halftime.
The Bees answered with a 14-1 run over the following 4:13 to take a 27-24 lead via a Cobb three-pointer with 1:24 left in the second period.
A Roberts buzzer-beating three pointer sent Upperman to the locker room with a 32-26 halftime advantage.
Upperman pushed their lead to double digits (42-31) with 5:15 left in the third quarter before Kingston reeled off a 9-0 run in 1 minute of game time to cut their deficit to one possession at 42-40.
“We built a little lead in the third and they cut into it pretty quick,” said McWilliams. “When you get a lead on a good team, you’ve got to be able to sustain it.”
Upperman maintained their lead through the third period as a Cobb transition layup at the buzzer gave the Bees a 51-47 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Kingston battled back and took a 52-51 lead over Upperman with 5:35 remaining. The Bees answered 7 seconds later as a Kam Bush layup put his team back ahead 53-52 with 5:28 left.
A Roberts three-pointer put Upperman ahead by 4 points (56-52) midway through the fourth quarter before Kingston battled back to take a 57-56 lead with less than 3 minutes remaining.
After trading layups, Kingston held a 59-58 advantage with 1:06 left in regulation before a Roberts steal led to a Cobb transition layup to give Upperman a 60-59 lead with 31 seconds left.
Kingston tied the game at 60 points each with on a free throw with 12.1 seconds remaining.
Following an Upperman turnover with 3 seconds left, Kingston had a look as time expired but ultimately missed, sending the game to overtime tied at 60.
“They (Kingston) had their opportunities, too,” said McWilliams. “They had a layup roll out and missed a few three-pointers that they normally make.”
The Bees struck first in overtime as Chaffin and Cobb finished looks at the rim to give Upperman a 64-60 lead with 2:12 remaining.
Kingston hit a free throw before a Roberts backdoor layup gave Upperman a 66-61 advantage with 1 minute remaining.
The Yellow Jackets answered with a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in overtime to cut Upperman’s lead to 66-64, but Cobb iced the game with a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds left to give the Bees a 68-64 lead that they held for the rest of the game.
Upperman will take the court Thursday at 2:30 CST against host-school Lenoir City (4-8), who defeated First Baptist Academy 67-43 on Wednesday.
“We’ve got to get some rest and go back and watch film,” said McWilliams. “We’ve had a lot of sickness the last two weeks. We’re over that, but our physical conditioning isn’t as good as it needs to be. Hopefully, playing this week and getting some work in next week will help us get it back.”
Upperman (68): Braden Roberts 26, Ty Cobb 19, Bronzden Chaffin 12, Branson Turnbow 4, Jack Torrence 3, Evan Huddleston 2, Kam Bush 2
