Miranda H. Lewis
Carter County Times
The East Carter Raiders remain undefeated in the 62nd district after taking down the Morgan County Cougars 58-51 on Thursday night at East Carter High School.
The game was one of the most highly anticipated match ups of the season as the two teams are known for their offensive fire power and defensive scrappiness.
The two teams traded baskets in the back-and-forth first quarter, as both struggled to find their rhythm and were plagued with turnovers.
The Cougar’s Preston Hoskins opened the second quarter with a long three at 6:05 to give Morgan County a 16-11 lead.
Evan Goodman’s first basket of the night came in the second frame to knot the game at 18 with 3:06 left to play in the first half.
With the Raiders having a chance at the last shot before intermission Blake Hall grabbed an offensive rebound and went up strong for the putback basket edging the raiders to a 21-20 lead.
Morgan County did a good job containing Goodman in the first half, allowing East Carter to show its depth. Hall led the Raiders into intermission with eight points and Tate Scott chipped in five.
East Carter jumped out to a quick 27-20 third quarter lead by scoring six unanswered points.
Cameron Adams finally responded with a fast break basket at the 4:47 mark to start a 13-4 run for the Cougar’s.
Gatlin Griffith converted a three-point play midway through the quarter to help the Cougars regain the lead 33-32.
The teams traded baskets in the next three minutes of the nip and tuck third quarter.
They opened the final stanza tied 36-36.
Goodman got into a scoring groove with an impressive back door cut at the 6:44 mark. On the ensuing possession, he proved he has plenty of shooting range by nailing a three well beyond the perimeter.
Goodman finished the night with 18 points, five of which came from free throws to help the Raiders clinch the win.
The Raider’s largest lead of the game came at 6:10 in the fourth, 45-38.
With 31 seconds left in the final quarter, Ty Scott, went 2-2 at the free throw line to give the Raiders a nice cushion.
Moments later, the game was a final as Tate Scott went coast to coast to slam it home for the Raiders.
The Cougars kept knocking on the door in the fourth quarter, but they could never regain the lead.
Adams led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points.
Morgan County (12-4) is known for shooting the ball – and shooting the ball well – however, they have struggled offensively the past two games.
The Cougars were 7-27 from three-point land (26%).
East Carter’s defense was key to their win as they did not allow the Cougars to take advantage of second chance shots on long rebounds. The Raiders limited Morgan County’s access to the baseline and held them to five second chance points for the entire night.
Hall, one of the most aggressive players in the 16th region, continued to make his presence known in the paint as he ended the night with a double-double, recording 16 points and 12 rebounds.
“I’m really proud of him,” said East Carter’s Coach Cole Brammer of Hall.
“He doesn’t get enough credit,” he continued. “He’s such a great basketball player and he puts in so much time and effort.”
“We came in ready to win,” Hall added. “We knew how good they were, and they are top three in the region. We wanted to come out and show everyone who East Carter is.”
The Raider’s recorded 19 turnovers for the game.
Brammer said, “I told our guys it’s a district game, they’re all tough. There’s going to be highs and lows. You can’t waiver, stay the course and execute what we are trying to do.”
He added that he was proud of his team following the hard-fought game.
“The best thing I like about it is that my guys bought into it wholeheartedly and they wanted to go out and execute it the best way they could, and I think they did that tonight,” he said.
East Carter made 54.8% of its field goals, 70.3% of its foul shots and 31.3% of its treys.
After leading by only one point at halftime, the Raiders closed out the game strong. They improved to 9-6 in the season and 2-0 in the 62nd district.
They travel to Bath County Friday night for regional action.
E. CARTER FG FT REB TP
GOODMAN 5-10 5-6 4 18
HALL 8-11 0-0 12 16
Ty SCOTT 5-9 2-3 1 13
Ta. SCOTT 4-7 0-1 2 9
SKAGGS 1-3 0-0 8 2
YOAK 0-0 0-0 2 0
SEXTON 0-2 0 0 0
TOTAL 23-42 7-10 29 58
FG Pct.: 54.8. FT Pct.: 70. 3-pointers: 5-16 (Goodman 3-8, Ta. Scott 1-2, Ty Scott 1-3, Skaggs 0-1, Sexton 0-2). PF:Fouled out: None. Turnovers:19
MORGAN CO. FG FT REB TP
Adams 8-16 0-0 2 18
G. Griffith 4-9 2-3 4 11
Spencer 4-7 0-1 2 11
Hoskins 4-10 0-0 3 9
E. Griffith 1-7 0-0 4 2
Dagnan 0-2 0-0 0 0
Justice 0-0 0-0 0 0
TOTAL 21-51 2-4 18 51
FG Pct.: 41.2. FT Pct.: 50. 3-pointers: 7-27 (Spencer 3-6, Adams 2-7, G. Griffith 1-4, Hoskins 1-5, Dagnan 0-2, E.Griffith 0-3). PF: 18. Fouled out: G. Griffith. Turnovers: 11
E. Carter 9 12 15 22 — 58
Morgan County 11 9 16 15 — 51
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