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RUTLEDGE – The Den was rocking Friday night as Grainger downed Cumberland Gap 81-51 thanks to two memorable plays by seniors Jacob Hill and Brady Smith on Senior Night.

Hill suffered a knee injury during football season which didn’t allow him to play basketball this season but the Grizzlies still wanted to honor him before the game. Grainger and Cumberland Gap worked out an agreement where the Panthers’ Alex Douglas scored an uncontested layup off the opening tip and then the ball was thrown to the other end of the court where Hill scored two points of his own on another defense-free layup. Grainger head coach Adam Wolfenbarger thanked the Panthers for the kind gesture and then talked about how much Hill has meant to the Grizzlies this season despite not being able to play.

“Kudos to Cumberland Gap for agreeing to do that with Jacob. I can’t say enough about Jacob Hill. He’s had three ACL surgeries since the eighth grade and made a real tough decision to not play basketball this season and we supported that decision but we felt it was important to get the start and get two points. Jacob hasn’t missed a practice or game all these years except for the times he has been in the hospital. He is a tough cat and needed to be recognized for that.”

Then there was Smith’s play. After building a sizable lead at the end of third period, Smith provided a play that will be talked about at Grainger for years to come. The senior guard picked the pocket of a Cumberland Gap player, got the ball going the other way, threw it off the backboard and then went up and slammed it for a dunk as the fans in The Den blew the roof of the gym. Smith, who had signed to play baseball with Virginia Tech next season, has had several dunks throughout his basketball career but nothing like what happened on Friday. Wolfenbarger said he has designed plays for Smith to get a throw-down but he went to the next level with the one against the Panthers. “During walk-throughs, there is one set of plays we will run and he typically does throw it (off the backboard) but I didn’t think that was coming tonight. He kind of leaped out on the steal and we thought he would dunk it and then he throws it off the board and it’s kind of one of those “on no!” moments and then he just jumps higher than he’s ever jumped before.”

When asked how many times he has practiced the off-the-backboard-dunk attempt, the mild-mannered senior simply said “a lot.” While folks in attendance will remember the play for a while, Smith said he may not. “Honestly, I just kind of blacked out. I just threw it up and then went and got it. I don’t remember much about it.” The two points off the rim-rattler was part of Smith’s 23 total for the game. Drew Branson had 19 points and Kade Williams added 10.

Grainger started the game 10-2 and then led 22-9 at the end of the period. The Panthers hung close to start the second period and got the lead down to nine on a three-pointer by Braden Ellison. The Grizzlies responded with a 10-0 run which was capped off by a Branson three to push the lead back out and not allow Cumberland Gap to threaten the rest of the contest. Smith scored 12 of his 23 points in the third and Jaxon Maxey’s triple at the buzzer sent the game to the fourth where Smith’s opening play electrified the gym on the first play. The Panthers out-scored Grainger 16-10 in the final eight minutes as Grainger prevailed 81-51, their third win in a row and fourth victory in the last five games.

Grainger will look to exact some revenge for a 58-51 loss to Northview Academy earlier this season as they take on the Cougars at their place on Monday night. The Grizzlies, who are the 3rd-seed, will open conference tourney play on Saturday at Cherokee High School as they take on Cocke County at 7:30 p.m. Wolfenbarger said the Cougars will be a great tune-up for his team before the second season begins next weekend. “It’s important for us to play a team like Northview and I like that road game before the tournament. I hope it’s a big-time environment up there since they beat us here the first time. It needs to be a tournament feel and atsmophere, something loud where we can get in the feel of the post-season. I’m proud of this group as we are three games above .500 (15-12) now and it didn’t look like that was going to happen for a while but these guys have put in solid work and deserve a lot of credit.”