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NEW TAZEWELL – Kade Williams’ steal and layup with one second left in the game lifted Grainger to a 55-53 win over Claiborne Tuesday night.

The Grizzlies trailed the entire game until the final second when Williams’ heroics sealed the win. Claiborne looked to be in control with 48 seconds remaining as they led 53-47. But that was when the Williams’ twins- Kade and Carter- went to work, aided by the defense of senior guard Ryland Burchett who had two critical steals in the final 40 seconds. Carter drained a three and then only 19 seconds later, Kade was true on a shot from downtown. The two teams exchanged timeouts in the final six seconds of the contest. Claiborne inbounded the ball to midcourt but Williams was there for the takeaway, race to the hoop and basket as time expired for the dramatic win.

“I wasn’t thinking much about it except if my teammates could pass me the ball,” Williams said of the five points he scored in the final 21 ticks. “I think we turned it up in the last 40 seconds to win the game.”

While Grainger head coach Adam Wolfenbarger was glad to get the win at the end of the contest, he wasn’t happy with the way his team started out. “I’m proud of our fight but I’m disappointed in our preparation as we just didn’t prepare very well (on Monday). I fell like we kind of slept-walked through most of the first quarter but were able to battle back into it at halftime. Claiborne does a great job of man-on-man and making big shot after big shot.”

“Kade had a good sense on the back-pick Claiborne ran,” Wolfenbarger said of Williams’ play. “As his guy broke on up, Kade felt the play because of the pick and just jumped it, tipped it and went. It was a heck of a shot. He’s pretty special and his brother is too. I’m glad they are on my team.”

The loss was a tough one to swallow for the Bulldogs head coach Corey McGinnis said. “We hadn’t been in that spot all year and it’s something we work on in practice but you can’t quite simulate it when the crowd is up and the adrenaline is running. This is something we will learn from and get better for but you have to credit Grainger, they made shots down the stretch.”

Carter Williams scored 19 points to lead Grainger with 13 coming from Kade. Drew Branson added 11 points in the win. Ethan Cupp had missed the last few games for Claiborne with a concussion but made an immediate impact upon his return Tuesday night as he had a game-high 21 points. Tyler Myatt add 14 points which included six crucial free throws in the fourth period for the Bulldogs. “Ethan is a competitor and is hard to guard as he can go inside or out. It was good to see him back out there for sure,” McGinnis said of Cupp’s return to the hardwood.

Claiborne was red-hot to start the game as they raced out to a quick 10-0 lead as Cupp went strong to the hoop for five of the points. Grainger righted the ship a bit but Cupp was true again for a hoop-an-harm play that put the Bulldogs ahead 15-4 at the 2:33 mark. The Grizzlies answered with four points from Branson and a three from Carter Williams to close the gap to 15-11 at the end of the first period. The two teams swapped baskets in the second period but the Bulldogs were able to maintain a three-point lead at 25-22. Cupp was the man once again as the second half started as he powered his way past the Grainger defense for nine straight points at one point. Grainger trailed 42-36 going to the fourth period but was able to get the deficit down to three points on three different occasions. Claiborne answered each time as Myatt hit four free throws and Evan Thomas added two more to extend Claiborne’s advantage to 53-47 before the Williams’ duo sparked the comeback.

Grainger will take on Greeneville in Rutledge on Friday and Claiborne travels to Cocke County.