From The Student Section...Merry Christmas Edition

Greetings on Christmas Eve! I hope everyone is going to have a great Christmas. Here are just a few of my thoughts on things in the world of sports and just other really random stuff.

• Once again, congrats to App State. The atmosphere in Chattanooga was awesome. The fans were really into it and really creative. Two of my favorite signs had to be: "Delaware: Michigan called and they want their helmets back" and "We want the Patriots"


• College Bowl season is among us, and there are some great matchups. We will feature a few of these games as New Years approachs.


• Basketball is now in full swing, and we have some great teams in our area. I had the opportunity to cover Avery on Thursday and Cloudland on Friday. All of the teams are fun to watch. The "Border Battle: Basketball Style" between Cloudland and Avery will be some great games. That game is in Roan Mountain on Jan. 29th.


• Most Exciting Game: You could pick any one of the Cloudland-Mitchell games. Both games ended in dramatic fashion, but the boys game was the wildest at the end. (Note: I am still working on getting the audio up from the girls game. I have had computer issues all weekend, but I have not gave up yet.)


• Both East Tennessee State and Appalachian State pulled off upsets of SEC teams this past weekend. ETSU beat Georgia in the Hawaii Christmas Tourney and App State defeated Arkansas in Little Rock. The Bucs and Mountaineers square off in Johnson City on Sunday to renew the Mountain Rivarly. I am slated to be there for the Avery Journal-Times, and I wouldn't miss it.


• Speaking of that game, I go to ETSU and pull for Buc Basketball. However, I have always pulled for App Sports. I am about as 50/50 as you can get for that game, so I really am not pulling for either one to pull it out. I have just as many App shirts as I do ETSU, so I am just hoping for a great game.


• Things to look forward to on the Avery Journal-Times Blog: Bowl Previews, Avery Sports year in review, ETSU-App Basketball, and another From the Student Section before the year is out!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and that Santa brings you what you wanted! Merry Christmas everybody!

'Landers Take Strong Victories over Mitchell

On Friday night, the Lady 'Landers hosted North Carolina powerhouse
Mitchell County and took the victory 48-39. “It's a big win to beat Mitchell. They are such a tradition over there and won so much,” Lady 'Lander Coach Matt Birchfield stated. “It's a big win for the program and the kids.”
The game was hotly contested early on and throughout the rest of the game. The Lady Mountaineers and Lady 'Landers each stayed within a few points until the end when the Lady 'Landers pulled away as they held Mitchell scoreless in the last 2:18 of the contest. “I felt that handling their press made us better. They play such good man to man and press,” Coach Birchfield noted. “We handled the pressure and that was a big thing. Sydnie Buchanan and
Jordan Miller really stepped up for us.”
Neither team could pull ahead in the first half as they were tied at the half at 18. In the third quarter, the Lady Mountaineers got the edge as they outscored Cloudland 11-7 to take a four point leading heading into the final frame. The fourth quarter saw Cloudland's Sydnie Buchanan and Jordan Miller take control. The first minute of the fourth quarter saw Cloudland take the 31- 29 lead after Buchanan scored the first six points of the half. “Sydnie stepped up and had a 3 point play then turned around and got a three point shot,” Coach Birchfield stated. “Then came back and got a couple of steals and turned the game for us. It was a big effort for her.”
Buchanan ended the game with 18 points and added five rebounds. Miller would score 11 of her game high 19 points in the fourth quarter. Shellie McKinney returned from injury and made a presence as she had four takeaways and three points. Mitchell was led by Lakin Norris and
Corie Peterson’s ten points a piece. “I was real pleased with what we done. They took away
a lot of what we do, like (Rebecca) Tolley inside and (Brooke Johnson) BJ up front,” Coach
Birchfield noted. “The other kids stepped up and played well. It is a big win for our program. It is good motivation to be able to beat a good team anytime, but it's always good going into the Christmas tournament break with a big win.”
BOYS
In the nightcap, Cloudland and Mitchell's boys played a hard fought physical battle that came down to not one but two last second shots. “Mitchell is a tough physical team. I am tickled to death to come out on top,” Cloudland Coach Ned Smith stated. “We had some foul trouble, but the kids off the bench stepped up and gave us some good minutes.”
The game was physical from the beginning, and early foul trouble for Cloudland helped Mitchell get a 15-10 lead at the end of one. However, Cloudland’s Randall Johnson stepped up for the ‘Landers, scoring nine of his eleven points, in the second quarter to give the ‘Landers a 33-25 lead at the half. Stacey Honeycutt scored eight of his 14 points in the third quarter to help the ‘Landers. Cloudland would edge the lead to as much as 14 points throughout the course of the third quarter. However, the Mountaineers were not done as they keep chopping at the ‘Lander lead. Mitchell would tie the game at 63 with 1:18 remaining in the contest. The teams would swap the lead several times in the last minute. Mitchell’s Corey Greene hit a two point jump shot to put the Mountaineers up 67-66 with 5.7 seconds left. However,
Cloudland was not done yet. Jordan Hughes threw the ensuing inbound pass the length of
the court. Brett Stockton was there to catch the pass and tip the ball in with 2.1 seconds
left to give the ‘Landers the narrow victory. Stockton finished with a game high 21 points, while
Hughes chipped in nine points. Logan Morgan also added seven points for the ‘Landers.
Austin Burleson’s 20 points and Logan Jensen’s 15 points led the Mountaineers.
Despite the victory, Coach Smith saw aspects that his team needed to improve on. “We have to block out, we have to make free throws down the stretch. Those are our two keys. They got a lot of offensive putbacks, and we have to get those rebounds,” Coach Smith stated. “We have to get better on defense and start blocking out. It seems like a broken record, but that is what we have to do.”