Not enough sustained runs for Ads as No. 3 BHS rolls
BEARDEN — Of the many things coaches exhort their players to do, a common one is: don’t get behind early.
Friday night, Jan. 17, at Bearden HIgh School against their longtime rival, Farragut boys basketball team failed to heed that injunction.
A mere 1:38 into the game, the Bulldogs led 9-0, which grew to 12-2 34 seconds later. FHS fought back and stayed in it for much of the game.
The Admirals, however, could never dig out of the early hole. The Dawgs’ 74-57 win kept them a perfect 5-0 in District 4-4A, 19-3 overall.
“They have a lot of weapons,” Admirals head coach JP Burris said. “They’re very well-coached. They have a core that’s been together for a long time. (BHS) coach (Jeremy) Parrott’s been doing a really good job for a long time.”
Parrott was pleased with the win, but was somewhat mixed in his assessment of his team’s play.
“We’ll take it,” he said. “I felt like we’re winning the game at times but losing the fight. Loose balls … gave up seven offensive rebounds in the first half. You do that on a bad shooting night and you lose.”
Down 19-7, Farragut closed the first quarter on a 10-3 run to trail by only five, 22-17, after one period. Junior point guard Parker Lane hit a pair of threes in that stretch.
BHS led 26-17 early in the second, but the Admirals ran off six straight to pull within three with 5:57 left. An 18-10 Dawgs run to halftime gave them a 44-33 lead at the break.
When Lane’s fourth trey of the game was followed by Britton Lewis’s two free throws, the Admirals trailed by only five, 46-41, with 6:15 left in the third period. A classic finish between the rivals seemed to be shaping up.
It didn’t happen.
Bearden then scored six straight to lead 52-41 with 5:02 left in the third. FHS wouldn’t get closer than nine — 52-43 with 4:58 left in the third — the rest of the game. This period ended with the Bulldogs leading by 12, 59-47.
BHS junior guard Justin Nordin opened the fourth frame with a three to put Bearden’s lead at 15, 62-47. The closest the Ads wouldn’t get the rest of the way would be 10.
Nordin had a huge offensive game for BHS, pouring in 30 points. JaMichael Blair added 10. Lane scored 23 to lead the Admirals’ offense
“They’re a tough team, they don’t ever give up,” Nordin said of his team’s district rival. “The best thing is to stay disciplined and focus on what you have to do.”
“We played strong the whole game,” Lane said. “We stayed with them ’til the end. We were kind of lackadaisical on defense and a couple of their players got hot.”
FHS fell to 14-7 overall, 1-2 in District 4-4A.
“I was proud of how we played, we just battled back,” Burris said. “Not a good idea at their place to spot them 9-0. We gave up too many offensive rebounds.”
