Brillhart, Brody clutch: BHS earned 4-4A tourney title shot
MARYVILLE — Coaches commonly preach resilience and perseverance to their players.
Friday night, Feb. 16, in the semifinal round of the District 4-4A Boys Basketball Tournament at Maryville High School against Knoxville West, Bearden was the embodiment of both.
Down three with seconds left in regulation, Bulldogs senior Drew Brillhart drained a three from the corner to send the game into overtime tied at 50.
In equally dramatic fashion in the extra period, BHS big-man Brody Smith grabbed a loose ball on a missed shot and made a lay-up with six seconds left to give Bearden, No. 3 seed, a 54-53 lead against the No. 2 seeded Runnin’ Rebels.
On West’s ensuing possession, Devyn Martin’s layup attempt at the buzzer was blocked by JaMichael Blair. No whistle sounded and the Dawgs held on to win, improving its record to 26-6.
The victory set up a championship game against William Blount Tuesday night, Feb. 20, at MHS (after deadline).
“We were trying to go somewhere else with it,” BHS head coach Jeremy Parrott said about the play to Brillhart. “He was an option in the corner, we found him and he knocked it down.”
Rebels head coach Aubin Goporo was visibly angry about the final play, thinking his player was fouled. “He was fouled, it was a foul,” he said. “Same thing all night.”
The game was a close, back-and-forth affair throughout. The Dawgs fell behind 6-0 early, but then outscored West 10-2 to lead 10-8 after one.
Down 15-12 with 4:57 left in the second quarter, Bearden junior shooting guard King Hubbard led an 11-2 run with three treys to give BHS a 23-17 lead. The Bulldogs’ halftime lead was just two, 23-21.
“They got the best of me last game, so I was just working all day in school preparing for the game,” King said.
Ties and lead changes prevailed in the third, which ended with BHS clinging to a two-point lead, 41-39. The momentum seemed to shift with almost every possession.
West was in a strong position in regulation, leading 50-47 with 17.7 seconds left and guard Maurice Clark shooting two free throws. But he missed both, setting up Brillhart’s regulation-tying three.
At 52-all, Clark missed the second of two free throws with 41.4 seconds left in overtime, allowing Smith’s layup to be the game-winner.
Hubbard led all scorers with 19. Smith got 12 and sophomore point-guard Justin Nordin added 10.
Martin and Kevin Jack each tallied 11 for West.
