Staff photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press – Howard’s Demontay Suttles shoots against Cannon County during their sectional tournament game Monday.Unranked throughout the regular season but undeterred in the postseason, Howard’s basketball team is back in the state tournament for a fourth time in five years.
The Hustlin’ Tigers used a furious fourth quarter Monday to claim a 65-47 Class AA sectional victory over Cannon County at Henry Bowles Gymnasium and again are among eight teams that will vie for a state championship next week.
Howard (23-6) appeared to be on cruise control and headed to Murfreesboro before Cannon County rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to pull within three with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
The Lions’ T.J. Mitchell was called for an intentional foul on Howard’s 6-foot-8 sophomore Brandon Walters, whose layup was Howard’s first field goal in more than seven minutes. The Hustlin’ Tigers scored again on the ensuing possession and reeled off 15 consecutive points to put the game away. Howard ended the game on a 25-9 scoring run, with five players accounting for those points.
“That’s the great thing about this team. They’re so unselfish,” Howard coach Walter McGary said. “They don’t care who scores, so long as the team scores. We don’t have any superstars but we’re pretty balanced.