B

SEVIERVILLE — If Morristown West and Sevier County’s first round district tournament matchup in two weeks is anything like the two teams’ contest on Friday night, an instant classic awaits those who choose to attend.

On Friday night, the Trojans battled the Smoky Bears, foul trouble, a seven-point deficit with two minutes remaining, overtime and everything in between.

Ultimately though, Morristown West won the battle as they defeated Sevier County in overtime 81-80 for their first win over the Smoky Bears since Dec. 7, 2018.

With the win, Morristown West finished the district schedule with a 3-3 record. The Trojans will be the No. 2 seed in the district tournament and will take on host Sevier County in the first round in two weeks.

“They really fought,” Morristown West coach Joe Dobyns said about his team. “I couldn’t be prouder of those guys, and I love those guys. They fought until the bitter end. We preach all the time that you can’t give up, and they didn’t. It’s the first time we have beaten Sevier County in awhile and to do it tonight on their home floor is huge. Our guys were just fantastic down the stretch. They just kept battling and did what it took to win.”

Things looked dim for West with 2:30 to go in the game as Sevier County held a 62-55 lead. Ty Steisslinger drained a three to cut the lead to four and, after one Sevier County free throw, Alban Oruglica drilled a trey to make it 65-53.

Sevier County answered back with two free throws, but Steisslinger scored again to cut it to 67-65 with 31 seconds to go. The Trojans fouled and Sevier County hit one free throw before Jalen McCullough drove into the lane, knocking down a layup while drawing a foul. McCullough completed the 3-point play, tying the score at 68 with 25 seconds to go. The Smoky Bears held for the last shot, but West forced a miss and sent the game to overtime.

In overtime, the two teams traded buckets to start before West began to take over. McCullough scored to give West a two-point lead before four straight free throws made it 76-70. Following a slew of free throws, the two teams combined to shoot 22 in the overtime period, West’s Rylin King knocked down a basket that put West ahead 80-74 with a minute to go.

More free throws gave West an 81-75 lead with 42 seconds to go, but Sevier County made two free throws and forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass. The Smoky Bears scored again and were fouled, making the free throw to cut the lead to one. Sevier County fouled quickly, and West missed both free throws. However, Kyan Almonte came up with a huge block on the other end, and West went to the charity stripe again. But once again the Trojans missed both free throws to give Sevier County a chance with five seconds left.

The Smoky Bears hurried down the court but missed the game-winning shot, giving West a one-point victory.

McCullough was the workhorse for West in the final quarter and overtime. McCullough had 17 points in the game but 12 of those came in the fourth and overtime.

“Jalen has always been huge for us, and we count on him to be huge for us,” Dobyns said. “He got some big buckets and made a big shot down the stretch. I thought we attacked the press better tonight which we have worked on. That led to Jalen’s and-one there late in the fourth quarter.”

Along with McCullough, Oruglica had 13 points while Steisslinger, King and Bereket Evans each had 12 points. Other scorers for West were Bricyn Gudger with seven, Tory House with six and Damian Morgan with two.

The two teams combined to shoot 78 free throws in the contest, 45 for Sevier County and 33 for West, and West had four players foul out of the game. Despite having just one player on their bench available at the final horn, West found a way to come out on top.

“That’s just the way things go sometimes, and you just have to play through it,” Dobyns said. “There’s really not a whole lot you can do about it. We talk about it in practice a lot that we have to move on to the next play and not let those things get us down and be defining moments. We just tell the kids to keep battling and do the things you’re supposed to be doing and it will work out.”

It was an offensive explosion to start the game as the two teams combined for 42 points in the opening quarter. King was a huge factor in the first eight minutes for West with eight points while Evans had three. A King layup with 15 seconds to go gave the Trojans a 22-20 lead after one.

In the second, the offense continued as West stayed in front. The Trojans led by four with a minute to go in the half, but four points by Caleb Tarwater, who had 30 in the game, tied the score at 35 heading to the locker room.

Much like Tuesday’s game against Volunteer, Morristown West saw the game to begin to slip away in the third quarter. After trading the lead to open things up, Sevier County began to feed Tarwater. Tarwater scored 10 in the quarter and Sevier County led 53-46 heading to the fourth.

However, unlike Tuesday, the Trojans refused to let that be the end of things.

In the fourth, West came out and immediately cut the lead to two with 4:31 to go on a McCullough and-one. The lead stayed around one possession until three free throws gave Sevier County a seven-point lead.

But the Trojans refused to wave the white flag, coming back for the victory.

“We’ve played a lot of tough games and against a lot of good teams,” Dobyns said. “The other night we got down and didn’t respond as well. Hopefully we have grown from that. I think we grew up a lot tonight and showed that we could win a game down the stretch. That’s a huge win for our program and will go a long way confidence wise for us.”

Morristown West will be back in action for their final regular season game on Thursday against Unicoi County. The Trojans will then get ready as they look to do battle with Sevier County once again on the Smoky Bears home floor in two weeks in the district tournament.

“It’s going to be a good ball game,” Dobyns said. “That’s a good basketball team. I know it’s going to be a tough battle when we come back up here in two weeks. We just have to make sure we’re ready to go. We play Unicoi County next week, so that will be a good test for us and make sure we are sharp heading into the tournament.”