Stratford survived to beat West Creek and Cane Ridge handled Nolensville as both advanced to the semifinal round of the men's bracket at the Middle Tennessee Invitational Tournament at Franklin High School. They will be joined on the other side of the bracket by host Franklin and East Nashville.
East Nashville 75 South Gibson 62
In a battle between the state's sixth-ranked East Nashville Eagles and second-ranked South Gibson Hornets, both placed four players in double figures but the birds carried bigger numbers as East handed South Gibson just their second loss of the year 75-62 at Franklin High School. East's Tara Carter was all over the floor and in the bleachers, literally, on the way to scoring a game high 23 points. The scary moment came in the second quarter when Carter went flying into the stands for a loose ball and was cut down by the metal hand rails. He slowly got up, but continued. Carter was joined by Michael Dowlen, whose 14 points and 10 rebounds gave him a double-double, Willie Wilson (12 points), and Isaiah Jones (11 points). For South Gibson, big Jon Turner set the pace with 14 points. Caleb Pearce chipped in 12, Nathan Hicks 11, and Adren Pearce 10 for the Hornets.
South Gibson 11 21 13 17 62
East Nashville (75) – Taras Carter 23; Michael Dowlen 14; Willie Wilson 12; Isaiah Jones 11; Grimes 9; Stewart 6.
South Gibson (62) – Jon Turner 14; Caleb Pearce 12; Nathan Hicks 11; Adren Pearce 10; Hansbrough 7; Robbins 5; Stidham 2; Jackson 1.
3 pt Shots: East Nashville 5 (Carter 2, Wilson 2, Grimes 1); South Gibson 6 (C. Pearce 2, Hansbrough 2; Robbins 1; Hicks 1).
FTs: East Nashville: 14-of-19 (73.7%); South Gibson 4-of-15 (26.7%)
Halftime: 38-32 East Nashville
Franklin 73 Rossview 66
Reese Glover scored his normal 26, but Ahsharri Haynesworth exploded for 20 and Matt Thurman tossed in another 12 for good measure as the host Rebels beat Rossview 73-64 Thursday night. Thurman added seven rebounds to his night's work and Haynesworth and Connor Beavon added six each. Franklin turned a comfortable six point halftime lead into a 51-37 margin by the end of the third. Rossview was not done, however, cutting the lead to as few a six in the fourth quarter before finally running out of time. The win puts Franklin in the men's semi-final at 8:30 p.m. against East Nashville. Rossview will play South Gibson in Friday's 2:30 p.m. consolation semi-final.
Franklin 12 14 25 22 73
Rossview 8 14 15 29 66
Franklin (73) – Reese Glover 26; Ahsharri Haynesworth 20; Matt Thurman 12; Bruce 8; Beavon 3; Kemp 2; Sanchez 2.
Rossview (64) – Kevonte Perkins 18; Matt Leineweber 17; Cole Monson 14; Reese 7; Perkins 4; Mimms 2.
3pt Shots: Franklin 10 (Glover 6, Bruce 2, Beavon 1, Haynesworth 1). Rossview 9 (Perkins 6, Reese 1, Leineweber 1, Monson 1).
FTs: Franklin 5-of-11 (45%). Rossview 12-of-16 (75%).
Halftime: 26-22 Franklin
Stratford 70 West Creek 68-OT
Stratford rode to an early lead on the shoulders of Juan Carpenter, who poured in eleven of his game high 30 points in the first quarter. But as he cooled, the Coyotes kept chipping away a the Spartan advantage and, in never say die fashion, tied the game at 60 after Javen Edwards was fouled on a three-point attempt with 5.1 seconds left to play. Edwards calmly hit the free throws, sending the game into overtime. The Coyotes could not keep up in the extra period and fell 70-68. Stratford will play Cane Ridge in the first boys semi-final game on Friday at 7 pm at Franklin. West Creek plays Nolensville on Friday at 1 p.m.
Stratford 19 14 9 18 10 70
West Creek 14 10 13 23 8 68
Stratford (70) – Juan Carpenter 31; Clendening 5; Graham 9; Wade 3; Mike Wallace 14; Reed 8.
West Creek (68) – Kamarie Coffey 15; Jaylen Negron 26; Javen Edwards12; Montre Boddie 10.
FTs: Stratford 20-of-30 (66.7%); West Creek 14-of-28 (50.0%)
Halftime: 33-24 Stratford
Cane Ridge 76 Nolensville 61
Cane Ridge had little trouble once they found their gear and extracted a little revenge, 76-61 over Nolensville. The Knights had beaten the Ravens less than two weeks ago. Cane Ridge used a barrage of three-pointers, 12 total – six in the first quarter alone – to jump to a 18-13 lead at the end of the first eight minutes. The Knights countered and held a 34-33 lead at half. But Cane Ridge went on a 27-10 run in the third quarter and never looked back, advancing to the semi-final round to face cross-town Metro rival Stratford. Kyle Elliott tossed in a game high 25 points for the Ravens, Brandon Miller had 18, and William Hoyle added 11. Nate Bloedorn led Nolensville with 22 tallies, while Jayden Watkins pitched in 16.
Cane Ridge 22 11 27 16 76
Nolensville 13 21 10 17 61
Cane Ridge (76) – Kyle Elliot 25; Brandon Miller 18; William Hoyle 11; Wilson 7; Oliver 6; Williams 5; Starling 2; Simms 2.
Nolensville (61) – Nate Bloedorn 22; Jayden Watkins 16; Foutch 7; Bryon 6; Campbell 5; Gilbert 5.
3 pt shots: Cane Ridge 12 (Elliot 5; Hoye 2; Oliver 2; Williams 2; Wilson 1). Nolensville 6 (Watkins 4, Gilbert 2).
FTs: Cane Ridge: 9-of-13 (69.2%); Nolensville: 13-of-24 (64.2%)
Halftime: 34-33 Nolensville
Source: Williamson Herald