EVENSVILLE, Tenn. - East Hamilton's topsy-turvy boys' basketball season will continue for at least two more games following a 75-72 win over Cookeville in a Region 3-AAA semifinal Tuesday at Rhea County that was a microcosm of the Hurricanes' last two months.
A near-flawless first period, which resulted in a 32-16 Hurricanes lead, was followed by two quarters in which they let the Cavaliers dominate play and take as much as a 10-point lead. However, led by senior Justin Dozier, East Hamilton scored the final quarter's first 15 points and held off a late Cookeville run.
The Hurricanes (24-7) will face Stone Memorial (18-12), which eliminated Warren County (23-8) in Tuesday's other semifinal, Thursday night. Both finalists will advance to sectional play. Cookeville ends its season 23-9.
"We always talk about basketball being a game of runs, and this one was a perfect example," East Hamilton interim coach Zach Roddenberry said. "We go up big in the first quarter; they absolutely kill us in the second and third before we muster enough in the fourth to pull it off."
The Hurricanes missed only two shots in the opening quarter and nearly ran the Cavs out of the gym as Andrew Williams (game-high 18 points), Vandrele Wilson, Cam Montgomery and Dozier took turns driving and dishing with little resistance.
Cookeville, though, quickly regrouped, closing up the lane with a sagging zone defense and daring East Hamilton to score from afar. The Cavs opened the second quarter with a 16-3 run in four minutes to cut the gap to three, then briefly took a lead on Alex Garrett's 3-pointer before Williams and Dozier closed the half with four points and a two-point East Hamilton lead.
Cookeville's Bailey Gilliam took over in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his 16 points and getting two of the team's four steals in the period. One of those thefts led to Noah Hilliker's three-point play and a 51-49 lead, which grew to 10 with 1:52 left in the period when Gilliam drove for a layup.
"We were letting them dictate offensively what they wanted to do," Roddenberry said of the two middle quarters. "Our guys did a fantastic job of dictating the pace in the fourth quarter."
Trailing by nine entering the final period, East Hamilton went right to work as senior guard Dozier got a quick steal and a layup, followed with a 3-pointer and found Montgomery alone in the corner on the next possession for another 3 to cut the lead to one.
Dozier added a pair of free throws and made another steal, which led to Williams' rebound putback and a 64-61 lead. Moments later, after a Cookeville timeout, East Hamilton got possession and decided to spread out and force the Cavs to abandon the zone defense, which they finally did after nearly two minutes.
Wilson then made them pay with a 3-pointer and six-point lead, but the Cavs hit a trio of 3s in the next two minutes, cutting the lead to one on Jacob Reeves' trey with 12 seconds left. Wilson made a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining, and the win was finally sealed when Gilliam missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"We knew coming out it was going to be a tough one," Dozier said. "We heard about what they did to Cleveland. We just stayed with it, kept our composure and we knew we had to step up and play good defense to get back in it. This feels great after all the things that have happened."
Roddenberry, who stepped in when head coach Rodney English was suspended and later resigned following an incident with a student and parent in January, echoed his leader's thoughts.
"I've never experienced anything like this year," he said. "Times like this you have to come together as a team, and the last two games we really bonded. All that crap that happened at school could either divide us or make us come together. Our seniors won't let us break apart. Those guys are just incredible."
Dozier had 17 points, with Montgomery adding 14 and Davae Hughley 11 for East Hamilton.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.