Maryville ‘stagnant’ against West defense
By Grant Ramey | (grantr@thedailytimes.com)
T.J. Kimble looked like he found a rhythm to start the fourth quarter, but it was too late to get Maryville back in sync.
The senior guard scored 9 of his 16 in the final frame to cut a double-digit deficit down to 4, but the visiting, upset-minded Knox West team used its athletic zone to frustrate the Red Rebels and hang on for a 57-49 district win Thursday night at Maryville.
“One, we don’t see much zone,” Maryville coach Mark Eldridge said after the loss, his team’s first in District 4-AAA play. “But I thought early we dictated a lot, because we came out and had five (turnovers) on our first six possessions ... three of them were on fast breaks, when we had numbers.”
Led by Yasmond Fenderson’s 13 points and T.J. Perkins 12, West (11-8, 7-3 District 4-AAA) jumped out to an early lead thanks to the Maryville turnovers and controlled the tempo from there, stretching a 21-20 halftime lead to a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter after a 25-point third.
“I thought from the opening tip, mentally, we weren’t in to it,” Eldridge said. “I don’t know if it was because of a big win at Catholic (on Wednesday). But tonight we just weren’t mentally into the game.”
Kimble led Maryville (18-4, 7-1) with his game-high 16. Bryan Landers and John Garrett each had 9 and Issac Edmiston added 8. Clark McCall scored 7.
Kimble scored 7-straight to start the fourth quarter, cutting West’s 46-34 lead down to 46-41, but the visiting Rebels had enough left in the tank, and enough stops left in their 2-3 zone, to hold off the rally.
“West did a really good job of spacing their 2-3 zone out and finding their athleticism to take away some shots we normally hit,” Eldridge said. “We were still 8-of-21 from 3, (but) we missed a lot of twos. I thought our offense was stagnant.
“As a coach, I didn’t prepare them well for the 2-3 zone. We’ll get better at it. We still hold our own destiny in the district. We’ve got a big one next Tuesday.”
The big one Eldridge referred to is a trip to Bearden, a team that entered Thursday with a 9-1 district record. The Bulldogs only loss was a 68-63 decision at Maryville on Jan. 2.
“We’re a mature team,” Eldridge said. “Handling big wins, we do it even kilter, we handle big wins pretty well.
“I told them tonight, last time we lost was Sevier County (on Jan. 7), and we came back and played really well. I hope that maturity, we handle this one really well and get on another run.
“Sometimes a loss is good for you.”
Lady Rebels 58, Knox. West 19
Maryville had three players in double figures – none of which were far behind Knox West’s team effort – in a 58-19 rout that got the home-standing Lady Rebels back to .500 while keeping the visiting Lady Rebels winless in district play.
Paxton Robinette led all scorers with 16 points, Leila Bangash pitched in 14 and Kayla Tillie added 13 as Maryville (10-10, 6-5 4-AAA) got back to .500 overall and a gave above even in the district.
Alex McKinney’s 6 points led West. Shamary Butler and Kyra Burris each added 4 for the Lady Rebels, who were held to single-digit points in all four quarters against the Maryville defense.
It was 14-4 after the first quarter, when Maryville used a 15-2 run to extend the lead to 29-6. Maryville scored more points in the third quarter (21), than West managed in the four combined frames.
Bangash scored 12 of her 14 while Robinette had 9 of her 16 in the first half, helping Maryville to a 29-10 lead at the break. Tillie scored 8 of her 13 in the 21-point third quarter, as Maryville took a 35-point lead into the fourth.
Knox West 57, Maryville 49
W 11 10 25 11 — 57
M 12 8 14 15 — 49
KNOX. WEST (11-8, 7-3) — Yasmond Fenderson 13, T.J. Perkins 12, Terrance Hall 9, Ibrehim Teshame 6, Lawrence Fishback 6, Nigel Bethel 5, Isreal Okita 4, Trever Ferguson 2.
MARYVILLE (18-4, 7-1) — T.J. Kimble 16, Bryan Landers 9, John Garrett 9, Issac Edmiston 8, Clark McCall 7.
3-POINTERS — Knox West 4 (Hall 2, Okita 1, Bethel 1); Maryville 8 (Kimble 3, Garrett 3, Landers 1, McCall 1)
Lady Rebels 58, Knox West 19
W 4 6 7 4 — 19
M 14 15 21 8 — 58
KNOX. WEST (3-14, 0-9) — Alex McKinney 6, Shamary Butler 4, Kyra Burris 4, Tenesha Bullock 2, Kennedy Blalock 2, Sydney Kesler 1.
MARYVILLE (10-10, 6-5) — Paxton Robinette 16, Leila Bangash 14, Kayla Tillie 13, Olivia Spears 6, Kat Pepperman 4, Dee Fritz 3, Mallory Pepperman 2.
3-POINTERS — Knox West 0; Maryville 4 (Robinette 2, Spears 2).
