At a 95% win clip, FMS Ads in charge
Dominant in Coalfield tourney, Allen’s boys improved to 19-1; 13-0 in league
Improving to 19-1 overall, while leading the Knox County Middle School Boys Basketball standings with a perfect 13-0 mark, Lynn Allen’s Admirals were crowned champs of the 16-team Coalfield Christmas Tournament Tuesday, Dec. 21. Jefferson Middle School (Oak Ridge) was the championship game victim, as FMS dominated pretty much from the game’s opening tip-off en route to a relatively easy 67-46 win.
So dominant, in fact, that one Admiral who doesn’t start was named to the All-Tournament team, which was headlined by eighth-grade guard Parker Lane, named tourney MVP after scoring a co-game-high 16 points versus Jefferson. FMS guard Daniel Lanning, also an All-Tournament choice, matched Parker with 16.
Beginning with a compliment to the opponent, “Jefferson is very-well coached, I respect their coach a lot,” Allen said about Jefferson head coach Mike Murphy, whose team fell to 14-5.
“We’re just thankful for the blessings the Lord has given us,” Allen added. “We’ve got great kids. We work hard and get after it. ... We started well and competed well.”
Admirals guard Britton Lewis scored 14, while post Will Dickens added 13 points and guard Zain Kureshi-Smith five. These three joined guard Ethan Farhat on the All-Tourney team. Matthew Dickens hit a three-point field goal.
However, “We gave up more lay-ups tonight than we probably have all year,” Allen said. “We didn’t shoot it well, we didn’t defend well, but we hung in there. The tried to make a run, but we’d come down and make a bucket.”
