End-of-game steal, lay-up lifts CAK past Austin-East
KNOXVILLE — Christian Academy of Knoxville’s senior point guard Bennett Simerlein gave his team a special Christmas present Thursday night, Dec. 21, at home against Austin-East.
With the score tied at 49 and A-E holding the ball for the possible game-winning shot in the final seconds of regulation, Simerlein stole the ball with seven seconds left, streaked the other way and made the lay-up with four ticks on the clock, as the Warriors held on for a wild 51-49 win.
“I saw (the A-E player) give his teammate a little look so I jumped the pass,” Simerlein said. “I saw him have the ball and saw his eyes and just jumped it.”
The Warriors seemed to have the game well in hand, leading 41-28 late in the third. But the Roadrunners then scored 14 straight to lead 42-41 with 5:20 left in the game.
From there the teams battled back and forth to the dramatic finish.
“It’s a really good win,” CAK head coach JD Johnson said. “We did some things that we need to improve on. We made a play at the end and we’ll take every win we can get.”
It was only the Warriors’ third win against nine losses entering the week.
A-E’s comeback was due largely to aggressive defense and numerous offensive boards.
“We made a mistake you can’t make in games like this,” Roadrunners head coach Denard Bertram said. “Those guys are fighting for their lives; they could have laid down.”
The three-ball was falling regularly for CAK in the first half, as they built a 17-8 lead after one that increased to 34-20 at halftime by connecting from beyond the arc eight times.
The second half was a different story. “We live by the three, die by the three,” Johnson said.
CAK junior post Caden Owens led all scorers with 20, with five straight points down the stretch to turn a two-point deficit into a three-point lead. Speedy freshman point guard Condis Cherry led A-E with 15.
“We’ve had some tough (games),” Johnson said. “We’re young, we’re continuing to get better.
“Feels good to get one tonight,” the coach added.
“Big turning point,” Simerlein said about the win. “We’re playing more as a team.”
