All the way up! Sterling Saturday Performances

<p>Oh, what a super Saturday!</p> <h6><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">72 Oak Ridge</span></strong></h6> <h6><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">55 Hardin Valley</span></strong></h6> <p><strong>Lucas Searcy</strong> earned his way to the free throw line repeatedly. Not a selfish scorer,  Searcy effectively created scoring opportunities from seemingly nothing.  He also played through contact well.  Lucas Searcy managed 11 first-half points, 19 overall. </p> <p><strong>Caden Uptgraft</strong> made all four of his first half shots (4-4 FG).  Brother Jamison did not score much early though his movement away from the basketball made defense for Hardin Valley taxing and confusing in the second half.  Jamison finished with 19 points (7-11 FG). Caden barely scored in the second stanza and exited with 11 points. </p> <p><strong>Kaden Brightharp </strong>was impactful in a minor role. The sophomore challenged a three-pointer and flew upfloor like a stork on-assignment. KB’s teammate simultaneously caught the clanging defensive rebound and flung the outlet pass long to meet Kaden. He made his first basket. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1029863" first="Kell" last="Slater"] helped with nine points.  Flip Thompson scored six points, off the bench.</p> <p><strong>Oak Ridge Stats:</strong></p> <p>23-48 fg<br /> 10-17 3’s<br /> 16-26 ft’s</p> <p><strong>Nick Liakonis</strong> (Hardin Valley) put up 19 points, 11 in in the second half.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1179289" first="Hudson" last="Stokes"] (Hardin Valley) tried the three-pointers over and over to little success, amassing nine total points. Hardin Valley only attempted a single first half free throw.</p> <h6><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">47 Beech</span></strong></h6> <h6><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">42 Wilson Central</span></strong></h6> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1011998" first="Kristian" last="Shaw"] kept attacking on an ugly night of inefficiency teamwide. The open the fourth quarter scoring, Shaw sprinted free on the break, and made a simple scooped layup.</p> <p>Shaw’s biggest play came minutes later.  In the face of a slowed, methodical game, Shaw jumped a passing lane, sprinted ahead again, this time punishing the rim with a smacking dunk.</p> <p>Following a ludicrous technical foul, Beech disregarded the emotional roadblock, and Shaw again made a huge play. He made a subtle up-fake. Dribbled to the side. Nailed a beautiful wing three-pointer.  Beech lead 42-33 at that point, with under 4 minutes left.  </p> <p>https://twitter.com/PrepHoopsTN/status/1497754457848885248?s=20&amp;t=TxgfcYSBgJn-C2LDd-mSIg</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1008433" first="Eli" last="Rice"] played ok.  His team was not fluid or effortless, but the shot preparation and result was.</p> <p>Braden Brinkley truly helped Beech manage through some bleak times. The point guard secured the pill in the fourth quarter and made composed decisions instead of rushing or feeding into desperation.  Brinkley hit two key free throws in the game's final minute too.</p> <p>For Wilson Central, <strong>Ethan Thomas</strong> was active and effective.</p>