‘Best feeling I’ve ever had:’ 62-57
Farragut boys shock Bearden in OT at BHS behind Atwell, Carbaugh
KNOXVILLE — It was a classic game between two longtime rivals.
Farragut outscored Bearden 7-2 in overtime to win 62-57 Friday night, Dec. 3, at BHS. The Bulldogs’ Elijah Bredwood hit a layup with 2:36 left in OT, but it was all Farragut after that.
For Admirals head coach Jon Higgins — in his fourth season at the helm — his first win against Farragut’s big rival was huge.
“You know we haven’t done it since I’ve been here,” he said. “I’m most happy that we could close one out.”
With 1:22 left in overtime, Admirals’ senior guard Carter Mayfield drained a three-pointer to give Farragut a one-point lead, 58-57. Senior guard Dillon Atwell, who led all scorers with 22 points, then hit four consecutive free throws to ice it. Numerous times during the intense, deafeningly loud overtime period, Bearden missed shots near the rim.
“It’s massive. This is the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” Atwell said. “We’re a really, really solid team this year and I think we can be really good.”
“What a good job by the kids,” Higgins said. “I thought they really played smart and really played hard the entire game and executed our game plan.”
Dallas Carbaugh, FHS junior wing, scored 21 points.
Bearden (6-2, 0-1 in District 4-4A) required a near-miracle just to force overtime. Down three with two seconds left, Bulldog senior post Walker Kyle launched a three. He missed but was fouled, giving him three free throws and a chance to tie the game.
When he missed the second, the decision was made to miss the third on purpose, in hopes of getting the rebound and hitting a tying shot.
Kyle threw the ball at the rim, hitting the front and bouncing right back to him. His shot at the buzzer banked in, tying the game.
Bredwell, a senior guard, and senior post Darian Bailey each scored 15 for Bearden.
“We didn’t match intensity early, we didn’t take care of the ball early, we didn’t guard well early,” Bulldogs head coach Jeremy Parrott said. “We have these stretches where we play well and we have these stretches when we have mental letdowns.”
Farragut (5-2, 1-0) led 13-12 at the end of one period and 29-26 at half. Ten points by Carbaugh gave the Admirals a 46-40 advantage after three, setting the stage for the wild fourth.
The Admirals might have put the game away late, but twice missed the front end of one-and-ones. The second, with 9.9 seconds left, led to Kyle’s dramatics.
“I missed a free throw I should have made,” Atwell said. “It should have been over. But my boys got my back.”
