By Michael Lindsay
The Upperman Bees and Lady Bees picked up a pair of District 7-3A victories Tuesday evening over Livingston Academy as the girls won 47-38 followed by a 64-48 victory by the boys.
Girls
Upperman improved to 2-0 in district action Tuesday as they defeated the Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats, 47-38, behind 16 points by Taylor Dolente and 12 by Gracie Butler.
“I’m really proud of them,” said Upperman head coach Dana McWilliams. “They played pretty well throughout the game. Defensively, we were a little better tonight. I knew it was going to be a great game.”
Along with her 16 points, Dolente recorded 8 rebounds while Gracie Butler dished out 3 assists.
“Gracie is a special player,” said McWilliams. “She and Taylor had a complete game. They both did well, and I thought everybody played well.”
Keely Mullins led Livingston with 12 points along with 11 by Ellie Butler.
Upperman (17-2, 2-0) never trailed Tuesday as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead with 2:33 remaining in the first quarter on back-to-back Bella Mullins layups.
The 9-3 score stood through the rest of the first quarter. A Gracie Butler layup with 5:33 left until halftime pushed Upperman’s lead to double digits at 13-3.
“We have a lot of respect for their team and their players, so we tried to have the best scout we could,” said McWilliams. “(Our girls) did well; they were in the right spots and I thought we rebounded the ball well.”
The Lady Bees took a 15-8 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Upperman equaled their first-half offensive output in the third quarter as they scored 15 points in the frame to take a 30-18 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Bees led by as many as 15 points in the final frame before closing out to win by a 47-38 final score.
Upperman improves to 17-2 overall and 2-0 in District 7-3A play while Livingston Academy falls to 13-6 overall and 1-1 in league action.
The Lady Bees stand along atop the district standings while Livingston, Cumberland County, White County and Stone Memorial are tied in second at 1-1 followed by DeKalb County sits at 0-2.
Upperman hosts DeKalb County Friday while Livingston Academy travels to Stone Memorial.
Upperman (47): Taylor Dolente 16, Gracie Butler 12, Bella Mullins 10, Gracie Hamilton 5, Ava Allen 2, Bella Stiles 2
Livingston (38): Keely Mullins 12, Ellie Butler 11, Mallie Carwile 8, Chloe Jenkins 4, Mallie-Gene Coleman 2
Boys
The Upperman Bees picked up their first District 7-3A victory of the season Tuesday as they defeated Livingston Academy, 64-48.
“Any win in this district is good,” said Upperman head coach Bobby McWilliams. “Livingston has got a good basketball team and I thought our kids played well. We were able to make some shots and separate late in the third. I’m tickled with our effort.”
Ty Cobb and Brayden Roberts led Upperman Tuesday as the pair scored 17 points each. Cobb tacked on 9 rebounds while Roberts had 5 boards and 3 assists. Bronzden Chaffin posted 12 points and 9 rebounds for the Bees while Kam Bush scored 5 points off the bench.
“Kam Bush did a good job coming off the bench,” McWilliams said. “I really think Bronzden had one of his better games tonight. He was locked in and made a big difference for us. As a whole, I feel like all of us did what we needed to do.”
Livingston was led by a 17-point performance by Daniel Bilbrey.
Upperman held a 15-12 advantage after the first quarter. The Bees pushed their lead to 22-16 via a Roberts three-pointer with 6:34 remaining until halftime before Livingston stormed back to tie the contest at 26 via a Tucker Miller floater with 2:02 left in the second.
“They (Livingston) are capable and can do that for four quarters,” McWilliams said. “We have to keep doing what we do and make sure we take good shots, taking care of the ball, defending and rebounding.”
The teams were tied at 28 in the final seconds of the second quarter until a Cobb buzzer-beating jump shot gave the Bees a 30-28 lead at halftime.
Livingston took the lead on the first possession of the second half as a Miller three-pointer put the Wildcats up 31-30.
Upperman retook their advantage at 32-31 on a Cobb layup before the Bees pushed their lead to double digits by the end of the third period at 45-35. Roberts scored 7 points in the final 3 minutes of the third period for the Bees.
Evan Huddleston opened the fourth quarter with an Upperman three-pointer to push his team’s advantage to 48-35. The Bees never relinquished their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter as they won by a 64-48 final score.
Upperman improves to 13-4 overall and 1-1 in District 7-3A play while Livingston falls to 12-8 and 1-1 in league play.
White County currently sits atop District 7-3A at 2-0 overall while Livingston Academy, DeKalb County, Stone Memorial and Upperman are tied at 1-1 along with Cumberland County at 0-2.
Upperman hosts DeKalb County on Friday while Livingston travels to Stone Memorial.
Upperman (64): Ty Cobb 17, Brayden Roberts 17, Bronzden Chaffin 12, Branson Turnbow 8, Evan Huddleston 5, Kam Bush 5
Livingston (48): Daniel Bilbrey 17, Tucker Miller 12, Cole Harris 9, Wyatt Hargis 8, Brodey Coffee 2
