With second-half rally, FHS boys edge M-West

Farragut High School’s boys basketball team had to endure a slight delay before its game Saturday morning, Nov. 23, because Morristown West’s bus broke down on the way to Knox County.

But through two-plus quarters, it was the Ads who looked to be battling a case of the road legs.

“They were ready to play early and we were not,” FHS head coach Jon Higgins said after his team battled back to nab a 53-50 win over the Trojans in FHS’s Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium. “They came out and they really smacked us in the mouth.

“It took us a while to adjust to things, but once we did I think we played pretty well,” he added.

Farragut (3-0) battled from behind most of the game and trailed 47-34 early in the third quarter — but closed out the frame on a 12-0 run, pulling to within 47-45 on a Kaleb Vanacker jumper at the buzzer.

The Ads turned up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and held the Trojans (1-1) scoreless over the game’s final 5:30.

Vanacker, a senior wing, also scored five points over the final eight minutes, and gave Farragut the lead for good at 52-50 lead when he knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:19 remaining. Carter Mayfield’s free throw with 30.8 seconds to go added to the winning margin.

Robby Geron, senior guard, led FHS with 14 points. Vanacker and Jake Wallace, junior post, scored 10 each.