In a battle of two of the city’s top boys’ prep basketball teams, it was Tyner junior forward Anthony Sims’ all-out effort that helped the Rams to a tough 54-46 home win over Boyd Buchanan Monday night.
“I go out for my team and try to play hard and be there for my guys,” said Sims, who did exactly that with a game-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. “Tonight was a great battle. There aren’t many guys in the city as tough as them. The first half I was a little sluggish, but then we all picked it up as a team and battled to the finish.”
Class AA’s tenth-ranked Rams (9-1) were able to fight to their eighth straight win as they avenged their only loss of the season so far – a three point non-district loss to the Bucs (10-7) in the second game of the season.
Tyner guard Keilan Holloway was clutch late as the scrappy guard scored seven of his team’s final eight points and had three steals over the final five minutes. Holloway’s mid-range jumper started his hot stretch in which he also had a strong take to the basket and provided crucial defense.
“Keilan was a huge spark off the bench,” Rams coach E’Jay Ward said. “He embraces being little. He’s that pest you don’t want to see when you are bringing the ball up. He and Big Ant gave us a really big spark to this win. They were valuable for us on the court in a lot of ways and helped us beat a really good team.”
Keelan Jackson was also sharp for Tyner as he made a trio of 3-pointers and scored 10 first half points to help build a 28-21 halftime lead.
Boyd Buchanan’s Jacob Shockley and Sims put on a show in the third quarter as they each made four field goals.
Sims gave Tyner a 37-28 lead with a crisp floater from 6-feet away halfway through the third quarter.
Boyd Buchanan answered with an 8-0 run that included Caden Johnson’s 3-opinter and layup before Shockley made a tough running layup through contact and hit his free throw to cut it to a one-point game.
Shockley fired up the visitor’s bench with a 3-pointer near the end of the third quarter, in which he scored 10 of his team-high 14 points.
“Each team made their own energy and that was great to see, especially since we don’t have lots of fans in the crowd this year,” Boyd Buchanan coach Josh Templeton said. “Tyner is a really good team and is so well coached. They have some sharp shooters and when they are out on the court it makes it tough to guard the big guy 1-on-1.
“We got knocked out by Notre Dame last Friday and it was good to see our guys respond and battle. I am pleased with how they played and think we have a nice trajectory from here.”
Johnson finished with 12 points and three steals, while Ryan Lopez also added 11 points for the Bucs in the loss.
Sequatchie County 62, South Pittsburg 53: The Indians won their first game of the season as they connected on 12 3-pointers. Jeffery Smith (16 points), Carter Bradford (14 points) and Brenden Cotton (13 points) led the way for Sequatchie.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Sequatchie County 57, South Pittsburg 40: The Lady Indians (5-7) were sharp as Ella Edgmon scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Hallie Barger finished with 16 points and three made 3-pointers.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.