Jordan Beirne (cq), left, guards Jon Patton (cq)Saturday during the Grace Academy basketball game against Signal Mountain High School at Grace Academy. Staff Photo by Allison Carter.The No. 10 standing at the free-throw line making 11 of 12 shots in the final 3:52 wasn’t point guard Wes Moore. But it was Wes Moore’s point guard.
Signal Mountain’s Austin Renfrow isn’t old enough to remember when his high school basketball coach wore No. 10 for Chattanooga Christian. Yet much like the way his mentor helped hold off some opponents with late clutch shooting from the line, Renfrow’s work helped the Eagles hold off host Grace Academy 76-68 on Saturday in a Region 3-A quarterfinal.
Signal Mountain (18-10) will play either Tennessee Temple or Lookout Valley in a semifinal at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday when the tournament moves to Signal Mountain.
Renfrow made his last eight from the line and fittingly was the one who dribbled out the clock. Moore, a standout at CCS in the early 1990s who afterward played for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said he has a close relationship with his current starting point guard.
“He’s a kid that doesn’t play football, so he’s been there for three years solid every day,” Moore said. “I’m really, really proud of him. He’s taken on the roll of coach on the floor and did a superb job tonight.”