Harriman Xmas classic - boys' Basketball

By Justin Braden

HARRIMAN, TN –

Picket County vs Midway

The Midway Green Wave lost game 1 of the Harriman Christmas Classic to the Pickett County Bobcats, falling 73-39 on Friday night at Harriman Middle School. 

The Green Wave (6-5, 1-0 in 1A-District 4) knew what kind of matchup they had on day one against a championship-caliber Bobcat (9-3, 0-0 in 1A-District 7) basketball team. The Bobcats went on a 26-3 run to end the first quarter, putting the game away early. 

“We try to do what we do. We scout as good as we can, but in a tournament like this, where games are back-to-back like this, we’re going to do what we do, and yesterday, I don’t feel like we did,” said Midway head coach Ron Treadway. 

The Bobcat's early run extinguished all the momentum that the Green Wave brought into the game, but Midway put together a complete performance against McMinn Central in Game 2 on Saturday. 

“We focus on what we’re doing offensively, what we’re doing defensively, and play as hard as you can while you’re on the floor. And that’s kind of what we try to hang our hat on - is playing hard. Yesterday, I didn’t feel like we played hard against a really good Pickett County team,” said Treadway. 

Pickett  28 17 15 13 – 73

Midway   5 18 11   5 – 39

McMinn Central vs. Midway

The Midway Green Wave struck back in game 2 of the Harriman Christmas Classic, defeating the McMinn Central Chargers 62-58 in a thriller. 

It was Cooper Queener who came out on fire for the Green Wave (7-5, 1-0 in 1A-District 4). The sophomore guard hit 3 three-pointers in the first quarter, including a shot that tied it up at 15 at the end of the first quarter. 

McMinn Central’s (3-8, 0-0 in 2A-District 3) defense adjusted along the perimeter to take Queener out of the game, but that opened up the lane for Dalton Cowell. The senior tore it up, scoring 19 of his game-high 30 points in the second quarter. 

“We feel like with Dalton Cowell, he’s kind of out Swiss Army knife. And he can play inside or outside and he’s a hard matchup for teams,” said coach Treadway. “Today, we played hard against a team that was physically, was probably a little better than Pickett.”

Cowell’s offensive work helped Midway build its halftime lead to 40-25, but McMinn Central made some serious midgame adjustments. The Chargers would hold the Green Wave to only 5 field goals in the second half.

The Chargers picked up their defensive intensity which sent the Green Wave to the line 12 times in the second half. Midway converted 10 of those free throws, but the defensive aggression slowly forced the Green Wave offense back out beyond the perimeter.

“We had about 4 possessions in a row where we did not get a look at the basket. We had either a turnover or a poor look at the basket. And they capitalized all 4 times, and of course that was 9 points. Just that one minute of basketball right there got them right back in it,” said Treadway.

Clinging to a one-point lead at the end of the third quarter, Brennan Reed drove the lane, fell in the paint, but got the ball back out to Brady Arndts at the perimeter. Ardnts, the sophomore, buried the shot to extend the lead back to 4 at the end of the third quarter. 

A controversial travel call got McMinn Central’s bench upset, and earned them a technical foul, and Midway extended the lead to 7 after the foul shots. The Chargers came roaring back though, and Carter Anderson drove to the basket and tied the game at 58 with 1:38 remaining in the game. 

Out of a Midway timeout, the Green Wave passed the ball around looking for the best shot. The ball came over to Wyatt McClure on the baseline and he drove into the high paint and hit the go-ahead shot over two defenders while drawing the foul. 

“We also like our big guy Wyatt popping out, because he is a really good passer for us, and he finds those guys cutting through the paint,” said Treadway of the senior’s versatility. 

The Chargers had one more shot at the lead, down only 2 after McClure missed the foul shot, but Queener swiped the ball loose from McMinn Central in the paint. Arndts grabbed the ball with his toe just inside the out of bounds line and slung it over to McClure who held the ball and drew the final foul before going to the line to put the game away. 

McMinn Central 15 10 22 12 – 62

Midway                 15  25 11 14 – 58

Leading Scorers

McMinn Central (3-8):

Carter Anderson 19, Will Benton 19, Daylen Spradling 12, Raymond McCarty 4, William Mayfield 2, John Mazzei 2 

Midway (7-5):

Dalton Cowell 30, Brady Ardnts 9, Cooper Queener 9, Wyatt McClure 7, Brennon Reed 7

3 Pointers

McMinn Central 3 (Anderson 2, Benton 1)

Midway 7 (Arndts 3, Queener 3, Cowell 1)

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