Despite only capturing three victories for the 2008-09 season, the Avery High School varsity boys basketball team has shown steady improvement as the season has progressed. The squad has remained competitive in a number of rematches against conference opponents, a trend that held form in last Tuesday’s Western Highlands Conference first round contest at Mountain Heritage against the second-seeded Cougars.Avery led after one quarter and threatened to pull off an improbable upset throughout the balance of the contest, but the experience and talent of the eventual tournament champion Cougars were crucial in a 66-56 victory to end the Vikings season.
Avery entered the opening round game with absolutely nothing to lose, and made things interesting against the Cougars on their home floor. Avery had played a solid game a week earlier in Big Red Country, falling by an 80-70 final score on Senior Night. The version of head coach Bo Manis’ club that took the floor for the tournament opener looked more like that squad and nothing like the team that was blown out by over 40 points the last time the team traveled to Burnsville back in January.
Avery moved the basketball around and out-hustled Heritage through the first quarter of play. Sophomore Colton Blackburn scored seven points in the first period to help Avery to a 15-9 lead after one period of action.
The Cougars grabbed their first lead of the game midway through the second quarter as part of an 11-1 scoring run that propelled them to a 32-24 lead with 1:50 left before halftime and eventual 38-31 halftime advantage.
Avery cut the lead to as little as three points at 44-41 with 4:52 left in the third quarter, but Heritage regrouped to score five straight points and extend its advantage back to eight. A basket by the Big Red in the final ten seconds of the period drew the Vikings within six at 49-43 after three quarters.
Mountain Heritage won the battle on the boards in the second half to extend possessions and create second and third shot opportunities. Steven Wilson and John Cannon were the primary recipients, using their height advantage to pull in 20 rebounds between them for the evening. Seven different Heritage players scored in the final stanza, with five points off the bench from Drew Letterman.
Avery looked to rally with the shooting of eventual All-Tournament Team selection Dustin Clarke. The sophomore guard scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, but Avery could not muster the final run needed to overtake the Cougars.
Kody Hughes was the only other Avery player in double figures with 12 points. Cole Blackburn added nine, while Chase Watson scored six off the bench. The Vikings conclude the tournament with three wins on the season, and with only one senior on the roster and a strong junior varsity roster, the future looks bright for the Big Red to make great strides in 2009-10.
Mountain Heritage advanced to defeat Mitchell in the semifinals of the tournament at Avery on Thursday night, and relied on Tournament Most Valuable Player Steven Wilson to lead the Cougars to a thrilling 55-53 win over the top-seeded Madison Patriots in the tournament championship game on Friday night at Viking Gym.
