Runner-up T’Giving tourney finish for Lady Ads; FHS boys 3rd
Three big momentum swings ended up benefiting Gatlinburg-Pittman, using a 15-6 edge in the fourth quarter to defeat host Farragut and claim the annual Farragut Thanksgiving Tournament championship.
Despite the 50-44 Lady Highlanders win, during the title game in FHS’s Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium Saturday night, Nov. 26, Lady Ads skipper Jason Mayfield said this game would serve as a valuable learning experience for his young team.
“These are tough games that we need,” said Mayfield, whose team lost for the first time this season (5-1) after routing West and edging Fulton in double overtime in the first two tourney games. “We came out in the second half executing things really well.”
Maelyn McNealy led Farragut in scoring against GPHS with 17, followed by her sister, K.J. McNealy, and Annalise Bishop each scoring nine.
“There’s a ton of freshmen, and we’re learning how to play as a team,” Bishop said.
The Highlanders broke open a close game late in the second quarter, building a 26-19 lead.
But Farragut responded with an 18-4 run for a 37-30 lead midway into the third quarter when K.J. McNealy fed Bishop with a fastbreak lay-up.
However, though the Lady Ads held a 38-35 advantage after three quarters, the home team did not convert a field goal in the game’s final eight minutes.
G-Pittman broke a 43-43 tie, on a backdoor lay-up, with 2:07 left in regulation.
After an FHS free throw, a drive to the hoop and pass for a lay-up gave the Lady Highlanders a 47-44 lead. Farragut couldn’t convert on a handful of three-point basket attempts, and GPHS closed it out at the free throw line.
Carly Vining scored three points, followed by three other Lady Ads with two points each: Mya Johnston, Lilly Mullins and Hannah Enderson.
Farragut 51 Fulton 47 (2OT)
The Lady Ads escaped the clutches of Fulton with a 51-47 double overtime win in a tourney semifinal Friday, Nov. 25.
Bishop’s 15 points led the winners, followed by Maelyn McNealy scoring 12, Annie Priest eight and Johnston seven. Lucy Beck was among other Lady Ads with two points.
Thanks to “snap and clear,” plus a pinpoint inbounds lob pass near the end, Dallas Carbaugh overcame a controversial block call one night earlier — that may have cost Farragut a victory versus Carter — and made one of two clutch game-winning plays at the end.
“My dad (Chet Carbaugh) has always taught me, ‘snap and clear,’ snap it out of your mind and clear for the next play,” said the 6-foot-6 senior post, who scored a game-high 22 points, the final two a lay-up off a nice inbounds lob pass from side-front court to under the basket by Berkley Naro, giving the Ads a 72-71 lead versus Karns with just 15 seconds remaining.
The 73-71 win allowed FHS to grab third place during the annual Farragut Thanksgiving tourney in Lynn E. Sexton Gym Saturday, Nov. 26.
Parker Lane, freshman guard, added 18 points for the Ads (4-2). Aiden Vanacker had 13, while Dominic Vanacker and Tyson Jackson each scored seven and Luke Johnson five.
This time, a key charge or block call went Farragut’s way, as Tyson Jackson drew a charge on Beavers point guard J.J. Faulkner with 8.2 seconds left. A Naro free throw made it 73-71 before Faulkner missed two free throws, which would have tied the game, with 0.4 seconds to play.
Against the Hornets the night before in the tourney semifinal, Carbaugh fouled out (13 points) with the Ads up two and a little more than one minute left in regulation — called for a blocking foul. Carter rallied to force overtime and win 69-66. Dominic Vanacker’s 22 points led FHS in this game, while Lane scored 19.
However, “We showed up at big moments tonight, which will help us later in the season,” Carbaugh added about the win versus Karns.
