Grant saves Southeast

Bradley Grant wasn’t going to let Southeast open the season with two losses.

The Raiders forward poured in a game-high 20 points to lead his team to a 56-54 win over Polk County (Benton, Tenn.) Friday night in Dalton in the third day of of the Southeast Thanksgiving tournament.

The Raiders (1-1) rebounded from Wednesday’s season-opening 77-64 loss to Model by opening the fourth quarter with a 12-6 run to lead 52-43 — the largest lead for either team — and fending off a late Wildcats (0-4) rally.

“We didn’t put on too good of a show the other night (against Model), so we wanted to come out tonight and make a statement,” said Grant, who also pulled down six rebounds. “We almost lost at the end, but we kept playing together and really stuck to it.”

The Raiders, who led 7-6 after the first quarter, 27-25 at halftime and 40-37 after three quarters, won the game with defense — they forced 20 turnovers and had 17 steals — and ball movement on the offensive end.

“In this case today, we really focused on sharing the basketball,” new Raiders coach Josh Carter said after earning his first win. “I think that’s the difference, just playing a little bit of unselfish basketball. We pushed the ball, got them on their heels and out of position and were able to shoot a lot of easy baskets.”

The Wildcats — led by Naaman Stillwell’s 17 points — rallied in the fourth quarter with a 13-8 run but never got closer to Southeast than two points.

“There were some times we made the possessions count,” Wildcats coach Rusty Brewer said. “We got away from what we were doing earlier in the ball game, which was feeding the ball in the paint and scoring inside. We shot a few shots from the perimeter that didn’t fall and they were able to break the lead open (in the fourth quarter).”

Ty Bonds added 13 points for the Raiders and Ashton Storey added eight points and a team-high four steals. Zach Harper, Trey Parris and Jeremy Bishop each had three steals for Southeast. Harper also had six rebounds.

Luke Silvers scored 15 points for the Wildcats and Justin Greer added five assists and four steals.

Polk County will play North Murray today at 5:30 p.m. and Southeast will play Blessed Trinity at 8:30 p.m.

• Rockmart boys 63, Mundy’s Mill 52: The Yellow Jackets (2-0) remained undefeated in the tournament and were led by Drew Patrick and Marqual Washington’s 19 points. They’ll play Mill Creek — also undefeated in tournament play — today at 2:30 p.m. The Tigers (0-2) were led by Marvin Taylor’s game-high 22 points. They’ll play Model (1-1) today at 11:30 a.m.

• Mill Creek boys 71, Blessed Trinity 49: The Hawks (2-1) got 18 points from Kyle Speller in the win. The Titans (1-1) were led by Chris Freeman’s 16 points.

• Polk County girls 53, Southeast 44: In a semifinal matchup, the Lady Wildcats (2-0) jumped to a 38-17 halftime lead and never looked back. Maclain Yowarsky led the Lady Wildcats with 16 points, Alex Rodgers had 14 and Holly German 12.

The Lady Raiders (1-1) were led by Danielle Pearson, who scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the second half when Southeast outscored Polk County 27-15.

“I was proud of the way we came out and played defense in the second half,” Lady Raiders coach Elizabeth Crane said. “We put some (scoring) runs together and I’m glad we hung in there with them, because they’re a good team.”

Polk County will play McEachern (2-0) in the championship today at 7 p.m. and Southeast will play Model (1-1) in the third-place game at 4 p.m.

• McEachern girls 68, Model 64: In the other semifinal, Mo Darby led the Lady Indians (2-0) with a game-high 24 points. The Lady Blue Devils (1-1) were led by Lauren Shields’ and Karlee Akin’s 10 points.

• Mundy’s Mill girls 75, Rockmart 25: In a losers bracket semifinal, the Lady Tigers (1-1) were led by Bryanne Ballard’s game-high 25 points and the Lady Yellow Jackets (0-2) were led by Haley Stocks’ nine points. Mundy’s Mill will play Blessed Trinity in the losers bracket final today at 1 p.m. and Rockmart will play in the losers bracket third-place game against Meadowcreek today at 10 a.m.

• Blessed Trinity girls 75, Meadowcreek 60: In the other losers bracket semifinal, the Lady Titans (1-1) were led by Kimmie Cremmins’ 12 points and the Lady Mustangs (0-2) were led by Freddie Banks’ 17 points.

• Dalton girls 54, Adairsville 27: In the Adairsville Thanksgiving tournament semifinals, the Lady Catamounts (2-0) went on a 15-2 run in the first quarter and a 20-9 run in the second quarter to put the game away early.

“We got some easy transition baskets and jumped ahead early,” Lady Cats coach Jeff McKinney said. “Everybody got to play so it was a good learning experience for us.”

Amanda Rector led Dalton in scoring with 14 points and April Besley added 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Tigers (1-1) were led by Emily Cole’s 14 points.

Dalton will play Rome today at 7 p.m. in the championship game.

• Ridgeland boys 59, Northwest Whitfield 58: In the Ridgeland Thanksgiving tournament, the Bruins (1-1) had several chances in the final minutes but missed several shots, coach Ryan Richards said.

Northwest led most of the game, but the host Panthers came on strong in the fourth quarter.

“I was proud of the guys playing like they did on the road,” Richards said. “We had about four shots to win, but just couldn’t knock them down.”

Michael Kelly led the Bruins with 16 points, Deon Washington had 11 and Alex Thames nine.

Dewan Harrison scored a game-high 19 points for the Panthers and Mason Harris had 13.

The Bruins play Ringgold at 5:30 p.m. today in the final day of the round robin tourney.

JV basketball

• Gordon Lee varsity 64, North Murray 58: The Mountaineers (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season at round-robin tournament hosted by Dade County.

Brady Swilling and Tyler Duckett scored 16 points apiece to lead North Murray.

Though the Mountaineers were playing a varsity team, North Murray coach Eric Bishop said his team could have played better.

“We didn’t play the way we were capable,” he said. “We seemed a little apprehensive. Maybe we ate too much turkey or got too much sleep.”

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