Intensity turned up late by Spartans, claiming Belle tourney after buzzer-beater
“The energy we played with made the difference,” Webb head coach Ricky Norris said, citing a surge beginning late in the third-quarter that helped the Spartans break a 29-29 tie with Knoxville Central to win the championship game 50-38 Saturday night, Nov. 28, in Farragut High School’s Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium.
“I just don’t know what took us so long to have energy,” he added. “We weren’t ourselves during the first two-and-a-half quarters.
“But I’m proud of our guys.”
Improving to 4-1 after a 3-0 Belle tourney record, Webb’s success also featured a game-ending, buzzer-beating three-point jumper from Markeis Barret, freshman wing, that lifted the Spartans past Morristown East in dramatic fashion, 63-61, in the semifinals Friday, Nov. 27.
“Morristown East was coming off wins against Maryville and Catholic,” Norris said.
Individually, “I think Jaylon Green had a really good tournament,” Norris said about his standout junior point guard. “He had 32 in our game the other night (Morristown East) or we’re not here.”
Against Central late, “We decided to pick up our energy and communicate on defense,” said Green, who scored eight points in the championship game. “We went to a diamond-and-one (defense). Markeis Barret had their guy (Central leading scoring Greg Moore).”
Though Moore, a wing, scored 15 points, only three of those came in the second half. He scored 12 in the second quarter for the much taller Bobcats, whose record fell to 2-1.
“Tonight we had different guys step up at different times,” Norris said. “David Sanger made some big shots late.
“I thought Devin Mixon was the key; he had a really big drive (to score) there at the end. Just his engagement on both ends, I thought, was really high level, so I’m proud of Devin,” the Spartans coach added
Sanger, a senior wing, scored a team-high 12 points, while Mixon, a junior wing, scored six, as did Brandon Winton, freshman guard.
Owen Feld, senior wing, added nine points for Webb while Barett tossed in seven points. John Tolsma, a 6-foot-3 sophomore post, had two points.
Beginning the tourney by beating perennial Division I Class AA power Fulton 56-49 Tuesday, Nov. 24, “We’re playing two freshmen and some young guys,” Norris said. “... Hopefully we can win and learn.
“It can be hard sometimes to get young people’s attention when you’re winning,” he added. “That’s our challenge.”
In dealing with COVID-19 concerns, “Everyone is trying to figure it out — we’re no different than anybody else,” the Webb coach said.
