PINEVILLE — Bell County turned in a strong all-around performance on Friday, rolling past Grainger County 80-60 to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal round, where the Bobcats will face Morristown East, Tenn.
With the win, Bell County improved to 5-2 on the season.
The Bobcats set the tone early behind an explosive first quarter from Cayden Huff. Huff scored 10 points in the opening period and was named Player of the Game as Bell County raced out to a 30-13 lead entering the second quarter. Ethan Buell and Jaxon Thomas each added five points during the frame as the Bobcats’ pressure defense created early separation.
Bell County continued to build its advantage in the second quarter with Gavin Barton scoring six points and Blake Burnett adding four more as the lead grew to 50-23 by halftime.
The Bobcats maintained control over the final two quarters, as the early damage proved too much for Grainger County to overcome. Bell County secured the win with balanced scoring and continued defensive intensity.
Huff led the way with 18 points while Burnett and Barton finished with 10 points apiece. Thomas added 11 points, and Buell chipped in 12 points to round out the Bobcats’ scoring.
Bell County coach Brad Sizemore was pleased with his team’s early energy and defensive effort following the win.
“I thought our guys came out and played really hard especially on defense our press was really good early,” he said. “We was able to turn them over and I thought we done a good job sharing the ball finding the open man and it’s always good to get a lot of kids involved in the game, which we were able to do tonight so hopefully that will help us moving forward for the long weekend.”
