Ads unafraid to spread wealth for success
Translation? “Share the ball,” Burris said. “Play together.”
The Admirals answered that call perfectly this week, beating Rhea County 87-63 on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in a District 4-4A matchup. Two days later, they dispatched West 72-59 on Thursday, Jan. 8, in a non-district affair.
Against Rhea County, FHS saw six double-digit scorers. Reid Vining led the way with 19 points;Dan Lanning supplemented with 16 and Britton Lewis added 12 points. Matthew Dickens, Aiden Foshie and Parker Lane scored 10 each.
Forty-eight hours later, all but one of those guys hit double-digits again in the
Admirals’ win over West:
Vining and Lewis with 16
each, Foshie with 13, Lane with 12 and Dickens with 11 points.
Each game featured a few different elements, but one constant remained: Farragut’s ability to spread the wealth.
“We have several guys that can score,” Burris summarized. “Any night, any one of them can go off. When we share the ball, I feel like we’re harder to guard because we have several options.”
Vining showed out, registering a double-double in each matchup. He also rocked the rim with four dunks, three against Rhea County with one more against the Rebels.
“He’s averaging a double-double, which is phenomenal,” Burris said of Vining. “The dunks are nice, but we also feed off his energy when he’s rebounding, running in transition and making post moves, too. It’s all a culmination of his work since he was a freshman.”
The Ads shot out to a hot start against Rhea County, building an 11-7 lead before the Eagles clawed back into it. Lane drove into the paint for a layup and a 26-24 lead.
From there, FHS took off on a 16-0 run to take a firm advantage that remained through the final buzzer.
Things were not quite as simple against West, as the Rebels hung around late enough to be within nine points in the closing moments.
But late free throws from the Admirals’ upperclassmen sealed the win, as they nailed 10 shots from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
“We have not shot free throws well this year, and we work on them every day, so it’s starting to pay off,”
Burris said. “That and getting stops are signs that we
have improved, because we’ve lost games by one possession that came down to those things.”
With two big wins behind them, the Admirals turned their attention to McMinn County Tuesday night, Jan. 13. That game took place after press time, though FHS also has a massive rivalry tilt with Bearden set for Friday. The Bulldogs were listed as the No. 2 team in Class 4A in this week’s Prep Poll.
“They understand you can’t worry about Friday until you take care of Tuesday, so that’s our focus right now,” Burris said last week. “But Bearden is one of the top three teams in the state and they’re playing unbelievable ball, so it’s not too hard to get these kids excited for that game.”
