BIG NIGHT IN CARTHAGE
CLASS 2A SECTIONAL BOYS
Owls 54, White House – Heritage 47
By Terry Collins Courier Sports
CARTHAGE — The Smith County Owls basketball team hosted a Class 2A Substate / Sectional game for the first time in 35 years last Monday night at Bill Landreth Gym in Carthage.
The Owls faced off against White House Heritage with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Murfreesboro from March 18 to March 21.
The Owls fed off of a packed gymnasium and grabbed their seventh ever state tournament appearance with a 54-47 victory over the Patriots.
The Owls improved to 23-11 overall while Heritage ended their season at 26-7.
The atmosphere on The Hill was electric,” said Smith Co. head coach Layne Bussell. “Everyone in the community showed up, especially our student section. The energy in the gym helped push the team to victory. There was lots of SCP being shown last night!”
Bussell continued, “The culture of our program has shifted quickly. A couple of moments that stand out to me are when we traveled to Charleston during Christmas. Our plays and families really bonded. Another was all of our tough losses late in games. Those moments helped us be prepared for late game scenarios in bigger games.”
The Owls trailed 35-33 heading to the final quarter but went on a 21-12 fourth quarter run to snare the victory.
Tyler Jones and Cooper Williams led the Black-and-Gold scoring with 19 points each while Morgan Sinclair added eight. Lucas Cornwell added six while Knox Jones finished with two.
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