Dawgs declaw Panthers 81-49
Knoxville — Bearden High School boys basketball coach Jeremy Parrott was a bit concerned before his team resumed District 4-4A play in the new calendar year.
And his worries looked to be warranted early as the Bulldogs struggled to manufacture offense early in their league tilt against Lenoir City, as the game remained scoreless for nearly the first four minutes.
And when a team finally broke the offensive drought, it was the Panthers that grabbed the lead when Ben Barr made a basket with 4 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Bearden would finally get untracked and rout the Panthers, 81-49, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at BHS.
“We were worried about that,” Parrott said of his squad’s early offensive struggles. “We spent Christmas break at a tough tournament and we played three games against teams that were nationally ranked, two of which, we won.
“Our guys have to be ready to play, regardless of the environment and who the opponent is. We struggled early, but eventually we got it together and we were able to do enough to win the game.
The Bulldogs would establish a bit of offensive rhythm and open an 18-11 lead by the end of the opening frame.
Bearden would also control the glass as they rebounded well and those rebounds and play stifling defense that would ultimately land the Bulldogs for the 17th time in 18 games.
“We’re not a big basketball team, but we’re not a small basketball team and our guards rebound the ball well,” Parrott said. “We rebound well.”
Once Bearden’s offense clicked, momentum took a huge swing in the Bulldogs’ direction as they opened a 37-24 advantage by halftime and extended their lead to 63-37 by the end of the third stanza.
Justin Nordin finished the contest with 22 points, including 11 after halftime. He was one of four Bearden players to post double figures in the scoring column. Sean Capshaw scored 19 points. He had 15 after halftime and knocked down three 3-pointers in the third quarter.
Porter Dixon chipped in with 13 points, while Carson Asbaty finished with 12 points.
On Friday, the Bulldogs continued their winning ways with a 67-43 victory over McMinn County in Athens.
Capshaw led the way with 24 points for Bearden (18-1 overall, 5-0 in District 4-4A). He had 17 points after halftime as he had five 3-pointers after the break, including four long-range jumpers in the third quarter.
Nordin had 14 points in Athens, scoring all of his points in the first half.
