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POWELL SHOPPER-NEWS • MARCH 5, 2012 • A-9
Magic ends Unexpected run for Panther basketball finishes
Powell Middle School boys claimed both the regular season and Knox County tournament championships. Team members are: (front) Matthew Samples, Zach Crawford, Brandon Brown, Jackson Steeley, Charlie Richards, Reilly Hamilton, Jack Richards; (back) Russ Edens, assistant coach Lucas Heildel, Gavin Hicks, Tanner Kesterson, Rysaiah Thomas, Conley Hamilton, Bryson Cowden, head coach Darin Courtney and Aaron Greene. Photo submitted
Powell boys bring home the gold Bearden made it a dogfight, but the Powell Middle School Panthers held on to win the Knox County basketball tournament championship in overtime 37-33. Coach Darin Courtney called Bearden “an extremely talented team.” Powell finished the season 17-0 in league play and 23-1 overall – a school record. “This was a special group,” Courtney said. “I’m extremely blessed to be a part of their lives. Because of their work ethic, they were very deserving of the
success they achieved.” And now the 8th graders on the championship team will move on to high school. Courtney says some of the players returning should step into leadership roles next year. Four pairs of big shoes to fill belong to Bryson Cowden, Conley Hamilton, Charlie Richards and Aaron Greene. Cowden scored 15 points in the championship game and was named Tournament MVP. Hamilton was named All-League and All-Tour-
nament. He scored the final four points in overtime to seal the win. Courtney said with just seconds remaining and Powell down by 1, Conley stole the ball and scored with a lefthanded layup. Powell then disrupted Bearden on the in-bounds play. Hamilton came out with the ball and was fouled. He sank two free throws. Richards scored eight points in the final game and was named All-Tournament. Greene was also All-Tournament. Powell had beaten
Bearden earlier 50-48 on a last second tip-in. That game determined the regular season champion. In the tournament, Powell beat Vine Middle in the quarterfinals and topped Farragut in the semifinals to advance to the championship game with Bearden. Courtney is in his 10th year as coach at PMS, and during that time the team has won three regular season championships and three tournament championships. – S. Clark
The Powell boys basketball team wasn’t supposed to make it past the second round of the district tournament. A couple of crazy games later, doubters were silenced. On Feb. 25, the Panthers took on Farragut at home. After a 13-0 start for Powell, it was looking like it was going to be a rout. What was in store was so much more special. Powell led the Admirals 55-52 with about 10 seconds remaining when Blake Williams hit a three for Farragut to tie the game. Quickly, and without calling a timeout, the Panthers inbounded to sophomore guard Dallas Fields with about 4 seconds remaining. He caught the ball, dribbled once and threw up a long one from beyond half court. The ball spun through at the buzzer to make the final score 5855 and push the Panthers past Farragut. “That was an awesome win for us,” said senior Steven Parsons. So awesome, in fact, that two days later ESPN posted the video on Twitter to its more than 3 million followers. Head coach Mike Ogan said he’d never seen anything like it. “Can’t really say anything about it. That was just lucky,” said junior Lex Waters. The shot sent Powell to the second round of the regional tournament to play an away game at Maryville on Feb. 28. The Panthers
Cory Chitwood
came out hot, hitting five threes in the first half. But sometimes momentum can best a team. “Basketball is a game of runs,” said Ogan. “When one team gets up, they start to let off steam, while the other team is working hard to get back in it.” The runs made by Maryville in the second half, combined with Powell’s 11 of 30 three point shooting, was just too much for the Panthers. The high-seeded Rebels came out on top, 57-52. “I think we were ready to play. We just kind of took them lightly,” said Parsons. “Defense definitely wasn’t our strong suit in that game … Offensive rebounding for them, that killed us,” he said. “We lost, but I’m proud of what we did.” Ogan, who’s been coaching for 37 years, said this team was in his “top two favorite teams. “They made a lot of people stand up and believe.” Next season could shape up to be a good one also, as Powell loses only two seniors. “The leadership extends to all the juniors this year,” said Waters. “We’re looking to go further and advance past regionals next year, and hopefully get to rematch Maryville.” “Hopefully, next year we can pick up right back where we left off,” echoed Ogan.
SPORTS NOTES ■ Baseball tournament, Friday through Sunday, March 9-11, Halls Community Park. Open to all, T-ball through 14U. Info: 992-5504 or email hcpsports@msn.com.
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