Ooltewah can only hope its season progresses as well as its play progressed over the first three quarters Tuesday at East Ridge.
The Owls built on their double-digit halftime lead with a 27-point third quarter and coasted past East Ridge 74-54 in a TSSAA Hall of Fame basketball game that opened the season for both teams.
Ooltewah led 19-9 at the end of one quarter and increased that lead to 40-26 by the end of the first half. The Pioneers got back within 10 points on a free throw by Chris Green at the 7:08 mark of the third quarter, but the Owls then took effect with their running game and outscored East Ridge 26-7 the rest of the period and led 67-38 going to the fourth.
"We're athletic and we're deep," Ooltewah coach Jesse Nayadley said. "I think the first half we didn't play that good. Both of us were a little sloppy, but somehow we ended up being up by 14. The third quarter I just kept telling our guys to just keep playing at our speed and the tide will turn."
Ooltewah's first points after Green's free throw came on a length-of-the-floor drive by Jervon Johnson, who followed that with back-to-back 3-point goals.
Those were Johnson's only 3s, but he finished with a team-high 20 points. Nayadley said Johnson is working on becoming a scorer and not just a shooter.
"We've got to do some things better," Nayadley said. "We didn't do a good job of finding Jervon, but we will. Here's a guy that's made 200 3s in the last two years. We've got to find the ball in his hands."
The Pioneers' Alfonzo Cox led all scorers with 29 points but personified part of their shooting woes by going 2-for-11 from the free-throw line. He made one of their two 3-point baskets, but coach Jon Goddard said he felt his team tried 30.
"We can't live with that," Goddard said. "We're a good shooting team.
"Our problem tonight was turning the ball over too much. They're a good team, but I'd say 75 percent of our turnovers weren't in any way a result of their defense. It was our impatience and bad decisions."
Andre Moton scored 18 points for the Owls and Jacqueze Robinson added 13. Antonio Jackson's 10 were all in the second half.
Green contributed 10 points for East Ridge.