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RUTLEDGE – There wasn’t anything particularly fancy about Grainger’s 52-49 win over Northview Academy Monday night but the Grizzlies will take it.

Grainger connected on nine threes in the regular season finale. Carter Williams scored 22 points and Carver Turley netted 15. Jaylen Stolz was the team leader in points for the Cougars with Madden Hamilton adding 12 and Ben Pickle finishing with 11.

“We just had to grind possessions out,” Grizzlies head coach Adam Wolfenbarger said. “I didn’t think we had great possessions the whole game as Northview threw a lot of different things at us. We shot too many threes early but once we got the ball in the middle and got kick outs, that’s when we got good looks and we stuck them.”

After the Grizzlies built a 13-8 lead through the first period, they increased it to 24-12 at one point on two free throws by Turley. Grainger led 27-21 at the break.

The Cougars were able to grab the momentum and tied the game at 33-33 before Turley hit a circus shot three at the buzzer to send the contest to the fourth with the Grizzlies on top 36-33.

Carter Williams connected on two downtown shots before Northview got their second wind to come back to take the lead.

Turley was true from deep once more as his triple tied the game at 45-45 with a little over two minutes to go. Williams had an old-fashioned three-point play and then Turley hit a pair of free throws with less than a minute to go.

Grainger had fouls to give late in the contest and used them to keep Northview from shooting a three after Coy Morgan scored what wound up being the game-winner with 1.8 remaining. The Cougars had one more look at the basket at the buzzer but the three attempt was no good.

Grainger is off until Friday when they try to make it three in a row against Volunteer as they face the Falcons in the first round of the district tournament in Rutledge. “We have turned some corners, especially defensively. Sixty-seven points is the most we have given up in our last eight games so eight of our last nine games, we have held opponents under 60 points. We have earned our identity now with a little grit and a little toughness.

“I told our guys we are to the point we have been building for and no one can say we aren’t playing better now than we were early in the season. We are trending in the right direction and we have to go get a big win on Friday,” Wolfenbarger said of the upcoming post-season.

All-District Selections

Both Rusty Bishop and Adam Wolfenbarger have built their Grainger programs on defense and each coach had a Defensive Player of the Year in a vote by the league’s head coaches.

On the girl’s side, sophomore guard Brookelyn Roach was named the District 2-AAA Defensive Player of the Year and senior Coy Morgan took home Defensive Player of the Year honors for the boys.

In addition to Roach, the Lady Grizzlies had three other players make the All-District team.

Senior Adison Hayes, junior forward Briley Caldwell and junior guard McKinley Mills were voted to the All-District team by the league’s head coaches.

Honorable mention selections included senior Jaylee Hayes and juniors Cora Dalton, Abrie Nickels and Maribeth Stratton.

Seniors Carter and Kade Williams were named All-Conference as was junior Jackson Trent for the boys’ side.

Junior Carver Turley and sophomore Parker Creswell were Honorable Mention All-District.

The Den will be the host site for the district tournament that begins on Thursday with girls action. Top-seeded Greeneville will host Volunteer at 6 p.m. and then second-seeded Grainger takes on Cherokee at 7:30.

Boys action begins on Friday with regular-season champion Cherokee playing Greeneville at 6 and then Grainger hosting Volunteer in the two-three matchup. The girls consolation and championship games will be played on Monday and the boys on Tuesday.