Dawgs devour Panthers
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Bearden guard Justin Nordin (10) goes in for a layup against Lenoir City. - Jake Nichols
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Bearden’s Natalya Hodge (2) goes in for a layup against Lenoir City during Bearden’s district matchup against the Lady Panthers on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Lenoir City High School. Hodge led the Lady Bulldogs with 33 points in a 78-44 victory. - Jake Nichols
LENOIR CITY — With more winter weather rolling in last weekend, the start times for Bearden’s matchups at Lenoir City were pushed up an hour.
Neither the start time nor the snow hampered the Bulldogs, however, as both BHS programs came out red-hot to remain undefeated in District 4-4A.
The Lady Bulldogs won 78-44, while the Bulldogs won 80-27.
In the girls matchup, Natalya Hodge led the way with 33 points — a remarkable effort any night, but especially when she had just been named a 2026 McDonald’s All-American nominee.
She paced BHS with 22 of those points at halftime — a stark contrast to Lenoir City’s 20 as a team — while Emma Rainey totaled 16 for Bearden.
They started the game with back-to-back 3-pointers to open the scoring.
“Not playing in a week, you have an idea of what you hope you look like versus the reality. I was pleased,” Lady Bulldogs coach Justin Underwood said. “We hit those two 3s right out of the gate to set the tone.“
After the game, all four programs came together to honor survivors of breast cancer awareness.
“Coach (Shelley) Collier had mentioned doing a thing for that,” Underwood said of the Lenoir City girls coach. “The girls want to wear the pink shoes, and we talk about doing it for something more than a fashion statement.
“Unfortunately, just about everyone has been impacted by cancer; my mom is a breast cancer survivor. So while this is a great game, there is life outside of it. It was fun to compete and then come together and realize we all go through ups and downs too.”
In the boys game, the Bulldogs shot out to an early lead and never looked back.
By halftime, that philosophy put Bearden — ranked No. 2 in Tennessee Class 4A in the latest TSWA polls — at a commanding 51-11 lead.
The advantage was more than adequate through the final buzzer, as Navy signee Justin Nordin led the Bulldogs with 19 points. Sean Capshaw added 13, while Carson Asbaty scored 10 for the visitors.
“Justin hasn’t shot it poorly lately but hasn’t shot it as well as he can either,” Bearden boys coach Jeremy Parrott said. “So it was nice to see him have a game like that.”
“And it makes you look like a good coach when you’ve got guys that can put it in the hole,” he added. “We’ve got a good team; our biggest battle is continuing to improve individually and staying healthy.”
