North Shelby Edges Brashear Tigers

North Shelby Edges Brashear Tigers

By David Sharp

   Brashear opened a nine point lead late in the third quarter of their boys’ North Shelby Tournament consolation semi-final. The Tigers (9-4) were unable to record a fourth quarter point until Ryan Ferdig sank a free throw with 1:39 showing on the clock.

   Seventh seeded North Shelby (5-6) roared back and moved on to the consolation championship contest with a 44-43 win. The shorthanded Raiders nearly doubled Brashear’s rebound total and turned the basketball over six more times than the home standing Raiders.

   Chris Chinn drained a North Shelby three ball, putting the Raiders on top of an early 9-2 score at the five minute mark of period one. North Shelby increased their margin to 11-2 seconds later and paced the game by a 15-4 score with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter.

   Brashear responded with eight unanswered points, closing the margin to 15-12 in favor of the Raiders after eight minutes. Kale Watson tied the score at 17 with a three ball at the 5:26 mark of period two.

   Brashear turnovers were converted to Raider points over the next couple of minutes. Jace Caldwell capped a 5-0 North Shelby dash to a 22-17 lead with 3:20 showing on the first half clock.

   Trae Treasure and Kale Watson scored Tiger buckets, pulling Brashear back to a 22-21 deficit. Watson’s put back was the end result of gritty work under the boards.

   Kale Watson converted a Justin Hazen steal into the go ahead points with 20 seconds left in the second quarter. Brashear took a 25-24 lead to the dressing room.

   North Shelby missed several inside shots during the third quarter. Brashear was able to find the twine and had their best rebounding period of the contest. The Raiders went up by a point early in the second half. Kale Watson tied the score at 26 with a free throw. There were five minutes showing on the clock.

   Ryan Ferdig lit the fuse for what proved to be an 11-2 run with a lay up after a Tiger steal. Justin Hazen and Kale Watson buried three pointers. Brashear appeared to shoot their way out of a scoring slump and led 37-29 with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter.

   The Tigers commanded high ground on the board, and led by the 37-29 score after three quarters of play. Brashear threw the ball away too many times early in the fourth quarter. The empty possessions would come back to haunt the third seeded Tigers later in the contest.

   North Shelby scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter. The Raiders had three possessions to go ahead. Kiley Watson pulled down defensive rebounds all three times.

   Dahn Kemp tossed in a pair of North Shelby free throws for a 39-37 lead with four minutes to play in the game. Ryan Ferdig pulled Brashear back within a point at the 1:39 mark of the game at 39-38.

   Michael Stoneburner sank two North Shelby free throws and followed with another on the Raider’s next possession. Kiley Watson trimmed the four point North Shelby lead in half with two free throws. Chris Chinn sank a free throw putting North Shelby up 43-40 with 43 seconds showing on the clock.

   The Tigers put the ball in red hot Trae Treasure’s hands. Treasure drained a three pointer out of the corner, knotting the score at 43 with 29 seconds to play in the game.

   Michael Stoneburner sank a North Shelby free throw with 15 seconds remaining for a 44-43 lead. Brashear brought the ball down the court as time ran down. The Tigers turned the ball over with about six seconds showing on the clock.

   Brashear tried to foul, but the clock continued to run. The officials called a jump ball with 0.6 seconds remaining in the game. North Shelby ran out the remaining time and claimed the 44-43 victory.

   North Shelby held an 11-10 edge in steals. Brashear was on the wrong end of a 17-11 turnover deficit. North Shelby pulled down 32 rebounds compared to 18 for Brashear.

   Trae Treasure tied North Shelby’s Chris Chinn for game scoring honors with 13 points. Kale Watson scored 12 BHS points. Ryan Ferdig tossed in nine points. Kiley Watson scored four points. Justin Hazen scored three points and Matt Thomas added two Tiger points.

   Brashear sank five of six from the free throw line. North Shelby went 15 of 25 from the charity stripe. The teams tallied 13 field goals each. Brashear held a 4-1 edge from the three point arc. Michael Stoneburner was in double figures with 11 North Shelby points. The Raiders scored 11 of their 15 fourth quarter points from the charity stripe.

   “We just kept chipping away,” said Raider coach Greg Seward. “The kids showed so much heart. We were down by as many as eight points. We ran our offense to perfection late in the game and got some good shots. They are a very good team. They (Brashear) forced us to toss our game plan out the window after the first quarter. We battled and scrapped for every rebound.”

   Brashear challenged Atlanta in the boys’ seventh place game. “I don’t think we adjusted to their defense very well,” commented Tiger coach Sara Williams. “We didn’t adjust to the style we were being allowed to play. To their (North Shelby) credit, they are quick and athletic. They just got it done. On any given night any team can win when the ball is falling for them. There are a lot of good boys’ teams in this area.”