East Hamilton's high school basketball teams spent the weekend after Christmas in Panama City, Fla., and came back with a combined 5-1 record and the girls' tournament championship in the Marlin Christmas Classic.
The Lady Hurricanes not only defeated North Paulding (Ga.), Alma Bryant (Ala.) and South Paulding (Ga.) but did so by 20 or more points. However, the semifinal and final were tight games until the second half.
Sophomore Madison Hayes averaged 23.7 points and 12 rebounds per game in the tournament. With East Hamilton up 30-27 at halftime, she scored 13 of her 32 points in the championship game during a 23-4 third quarter.
"We made a few adjustments defensively and came out and had an 18-0 run to start the second half. She had 11 of those points and assisted on a couple of other baskets," East Hamilton girls' coach Hunter Gremore said of Hayes. "For about a four-minute stretch, she really took over."
Gremore said a total of 56 free throws were shot in the first half of the semifinal in which he had four starters pick up their third fouls in that half. Then down 30-21, basically the bench sparked a 19-3 run that turned things around.
"We had been playing well anyway and we went there minus a starter," said Gremore, whose team is now 16-1. "We still went out and played that good. That's a good confidence-builder. Everyone contributed the whole weekend."
East Hamilton's boys lost a two-point game in its opener, then won its next two.
Bearettes keep rolling
Bradley Central's girls spent last weekend winning the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic at Greeneville, Tenn., for the second consecutive year. They defeated Oak Ridge 54-48 in Saturday's final.
Jason Reuter coached Wednesday's game but missed Thursday's game with an illness that caused him to be "the sickest I've been in 20 years." It was the first game Reuter has missed in his 25-year association with Bradley basketball. Assistant coach Katie Frazier guided that victory.
"It was four games in four days," said Reuter, whose Bearettes are 16-0 and No. 21 in USA Today's Super 25 computer rankings. "You get about an hour to go to a local rec center to prepare, and that's about it. I've got a good staff around me. My kids are in good hands."
At the end of Bradley's 64-56 semifinal win over South Greene, Kentucky signee Rhyne Howard was sitting on exactly 2,000 points in her Bearettes career. She had 21 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and eight steals in the final.
"I knew she was special when she first came here, but I can't say I knew what she'd accomplish," Reuter said. "I don't have a crystal ball. I knew she was a talented young lady, but there are so many variables. She grew about three or four inches, and she's about 25 pounds stronger. She could go out and score no points and still help us."
Tucker's special chance
Coach Jason McCowan said his Cleveland boys' basketball team has a motto that a perfect day is doing something for someone for which they can never repay you.
Well, McCowan had a perfect day last Saturday.
Cleveland assistant coach and former player Reggie Tucker had lined up Jones High School in Orlando, Fla., to compete in Cleveland's Holiday Classic last weekend. Jones is coached by Willie Anderson, Tucker's best friend and former roommate when the two played at LSU.
After the Blue Raiders beat Sequoyah in their tournament opener, McCowan informed his players that if they got to the championship game opposite Jones, he was going to let Tucker coach them against his friend.
Jones won its semifinal. And as it turned out, McCowan needed that reminder as a motivational tool for his team, which rallied from 15 points down to beat Clarksville Northeast in its semifinal.
The Blue Raiders defeated Jones 58-49, leaving Tucker with a 2-1 record while in charge. Tucker coached in a 64-62 District 5-AAA loss to Ooltewah on Dec. 14, 2012, then coached a 63-49 victory over Christian Academy of Knoxville in Bearden's Super 16 tournament the next day while McCowan was dealing with a family emergency.
"I didn't even think twice about it when we got to the championship game," McCowan said of his decision. "I told him, 'I'd love for you to coach our game.' It was a really simple conversation. He was really appreciative of it."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.