Campbell’s victory sparked by impressive third quarter performance

By Clayton Carroll

CLINTON, TN (WLAF) – After defeating Carter in game one of the Anderson County Christmas tournament 53-30, Campbell was defeated by William Blount in the semifinal. This put the Cougars in the third-place game against the Oliver Springs Bobcats who defeated First Baptist Academy in game one of the tournament, and fell to the host team, Anderson County, in the semifinal. The Bobcats entered the game 7 and 6 on the season, while Campbell came in 4 and 8.

Watch Josh Parker’s call of the action on demand HERE over WLAF.

Campbell started strong. Gavin Owens quickly got things rolling with a two -point bucket, and at one point in the first quarter; the Cougars led Oliver Springs by 13. The Bobcats cut the lead down to six near the end of the first before Tyler Kitts hit a three ball at the buzzer to put the Cougars ahead of the Bobcats 21-12.

The Cougars had a sluggish second quarter. That nine point lead after the first quarter dwindled down to three at the half. At the break, Campbell narrowly held the edge against Oliver Springs 32-29.

The second, which announcer Josh Parker described as a “multi-colored court” at Anderson County High School, the Orange-and-Blue looked like a whole different basketball team. Fueled largely in part by the Day twins, Jordan and Logan, as well as Luke Browning, Gavin Cox, and Gavin Owens, Campbell outscored Oliver Springs 26-seven in the third, furthering the lead to 58-36.

The hot third quarter continued in the fourth as Campbell wouldn’t give Oliver Springs a fighting chance. The Cougars beat the Bobcats 77-55 to claim third place in the Anderson County Christmas Tournament.

Assistant Head Coach Brandon Clawson was proud of the team’s performance. He said he and head coach Ernie “Mac” Clawson will work with the team on improving the defensive side of the ball over the break. Brandon Clawson also said “I think we can get our team to where we are competing with these other teams (i.e. William Blount). He said that he’s “seen improvement from our kids in the past two to three days.”

Luke Browning led the Orange-and-Blue in scoring with 14. Gavin Cox finished right behind Browning with a baker’s dozen (13). Jordan Day tallied 12, and Gavin Owens ended the afternoon with 11 points. The other Day, Logan, scored nine, as did Tyler Kitts. Jake Hatmaker scored three. Keegan Nelson, Brady Hatmaker, and Cole Miller all had two points apiece. Gabe St. John, Will Croley, and Dylan Ford all saw game action, but did not score. For the first time this season, there were two local realtor Gage Dople Players of the Game. That superlative belonged to Jordan and Logan Day.

Up next for the Cougars is a battle with the Indians of Oneida at John R. W. Brown Gymnasium on January 2nd. The varsity Lady Cougars tip off at 6 pm, while the Cougars play at 7:30 pm.

The next broadcast of Campbell County basketball is on December 27th. The Lady Cougars head south to Pensacola Beach to participate in a three-day tournament. Clayton Carroll sends you all the live coverage from the Sunshine State over the WLAF Doyle’s Tire Sports Network.

LADY COUGARS PENSACOLA BEACH TOURNEY SCHEDULE

ALL GAME TIMES ARE IN CENTRAL TIME (CST)

Dec 27th  Campbell vs Eastside SC                 4:00 PM

Dec 28th Campbell v South Paulding GA       11:30 AM

Dec 29th Campbell v Braden River FL             2:30 PM

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(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 12-21-23 9PM)

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