It may not have been the most well-played game of the year for either Stone Memorial or Cumberland County, but it still counts as a win for one team and a loss for the other.
For Stone Memorial, the Panthers’ game Friday with the Jets proved to be a good thing. SMHS outscored Cumberland County 13-2 in the fourth period to take the hard-fought 45-32 victory.
“We got some good defense, pulled down some good rebounds,” said Stone coach Jess Raby. “I thought Noah Potter had an extended period out there. We’ve got really big props to Evin Mosley.”
The win pushes Stone Memorial to 16-8 on the year and 6-2 in District 7 play. Cumberland County falls to 18-8 and 4-4 in league play.
Moseley set the pace early in the game for Stone Memorial. He got help from baskets from Jack Cordell, Briggs Lowe and Hunter Haney to help the Panthers take a 10-7 advantage after the first period.
Cumberland County tried to fight back with a surge in the second quarter. Jake Christopher caught fire for the Jets, as did Sol Sitton and Tristan Futrell. Stone led CCHS by a score of only 15-13 heading into halftime.
“We forced a lot of things,” Raby said. “We’re just not comfortable in our offense. So, I want to see that on film, so the guys and show them where they can get better. We’ve got to handle some stuff.”
The action went back and forth throughout the third period. Tanner Bowman, Potter and Charlie Vanwinkle came up big for Stone Memorial; however, Cumberland County got baskets from Schaeffer Sitton, Asher Mifflin and Sol Sitton.
SMHS led 32-30 heading into the final eight minutes of action.
Moseley led Stone Memorial in scoring with 14 points. Cordell scored 10, while Haney scored eight and Lowe chipped in with six. Potter tallied three points, and Bowman and Vanwinkle scored two each.
Christoper was tops for Cumberland County with 13 points. Sol Sitton scored eight and Futrell scored five in the game. Mifflin threw in four points for CCHS, while Schaeffer Sitton totaled.
Both teams will now prepare for the District 7 tournament. The annual event will take place Feb. 20-24 at Cookeville High School.
Stone, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, is scheduled to face Cumberland County, the No. 3 seed, at 4:30 p.m. in the boys semifinals.
The boys’ title game is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 24.