GATLINBURG-It is, without a doubt, one of the toughest gymnasiums to play in. And, with years of traveling to Gatlinburg-Pittman, Eugene W. Huskey Gymnasium is still tough, if not tougher. And let's not forget a hostile environment. They really pull for their Highlanders, and make no apologies for it.

Both the Cosby Eagles and Lady Eagles surely felt it, and suffered their first losses of the season Friday night the hands of the Highlanders. The Lady Eagles (2-1) fell to the Lady Highlander (3-0) 53-48, while the Eagles (2-1) were downed by the Highlanders (5-0) 69-47.

 

LADY EAGLES STUMBLE

Even the fans were tired when this one was finished. Both the Lady Eagles and Lady Highlanders went to the full court press/trap, and it stayed that way for the duration. How players from both squads managed to push for that long and remain on their feet is amazing. But, the Lady Highlanders seemed to have just a bit more breath in the end to get the victory.

Neither team shot the ball very well. Cosby was 16-47 (34%) and 3-8 (37.5%) from three-point range while Gatlinburg-Pittman was 17-53 (32%) and 3-13 (23%) from beyond the arc. And, neither team could find their mark from the free throw line with the Lady Eagles 13-26 (50%) and the Lady Highlander 16-34 (47%).

Let's just say that both teams were living by full court pressure, and both teams succumbed to it often as the Lady Eagles finished with 26 turnovers and the Lady Highlanders with 27.

The game was tight throughout, and even tied going into the final eight minutes.

The Lady Highlander had the upper hand, albeit barely, early on, leading 14-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Eagles got two baskets from point guard Alyssa Mcmahan, two baskets and two free throws from senior Brittany Frisbee, and two free throws from Maddie Hall.

The Lady Highlanders pushed their lead to six at the break, 26-20. The Lady Eagles only managed eight points in the quarter with Frisbee getting another basket and another two free throws, a basket from Brooklyn Stuart, and single free throws from McMahan and Tiffany Smelcer.

The Lady Eagles forged ahead, and tied the scored at 33-33 at the end of the first quarter. For the Lady Eagles, Frisbee, again, had two more baskets en route to her game-high 19 points while McMahan hit a three-pointer, the first for the Lady Eagles on the night, Stuart and Taylor Valentine each had single baskets and Hall canned two free throws.

Both teams battled back and forth, the lead for either never surpassing three. At one point mid way through the final period, the Lady Highlanders were lax defensively on a Cosby inbounds play, and McMahan made them pay as the junior calmly dribble twice, stopped outside the three-point arc, and swished it to tied the score again. The Lady Eagles had opportunities, but let them slip away while the Lady Highlanders seized on their opportunities with under two minutes remaining to slip away with the five-point victory.

The Lady Highlanders out-rebounded the Lady Eagles 33-25.

Cosby (48): Brittany Frisbee 19, Alyssa McMahan 12, Maddie Hall 9, Brooklyn Stuart 4, Taylor Valentine 2, Tiffany Smelcer 1, Lexi Lowery 1.

Gatlinburg-Pittman (53): Owens 12, Dodgen 11, Jagasia 8, Sims 8, Shults 5, Bryan 4, John 3, Taylor 2.

 

TURNOVERS SLOW EAGLES

All the hype surrounded Gatlinburg-Pittman with their off-season transfers. Three or four D-I prospects was what some of the media were reporting.

Well, they didn't live up to the hype. And as for D-I prospects, one, maybe two. Trust us, though, this is solid basketball team that should go far. 

The Eagles were their own worst enemy on Friday night committing 28 turnovers, compared to 15 for the Highlanders.

On the night, the Eagles were 15-33 (45.5%) from the floor and 6-10 (60%) from three-point range, four of them from Jake Ledford, all in the first half. The Highlanders were 27-53 (50.9%) from the floor and 3-6 (50%) from beyond the arc. Neither team shot well from the free throw line as the Eagles finished 11-20 (55%) and the Highlanders were 12-29 (41.3%). The Eagles won the battle of the boards hauling down 28 boards to the Highlanders 25.

The Highlanders were riding high to start things off, flying out to a 22-8 first quarter lead. The Eagles' Jake Ledford hit two three-pointers while point guard Andrew Adams canned a deuce.

The Highlanders made it a 15-point lead at the break 40-25. Ledford hit two more three-pointers while Robert Herzog hit two shots, Adams nailed two free throws, Brandon Gates and Seth Wyatt each had a basket, and Jake Green knocked down a free throw to account for the Eagles' scoring.

The Highlander lead was 17 at the end of three, 53-36, but the Eagles were still giving it everything they had. Green knocked one in from beyond the arc, while Adams, Corey Conard and Wyatt each contributed single baskets.

But, the Highlanders were just a bit too much on this night, finishing off the 22-point victory. Zach Webb had a three-pointer, Herzog another bucket and two free throws, and single free throws from Webb, Wyatt, Timmy Humphrey and Nick Baxter to finish out the Eagle scoring.

Jake Ledford finished with 12 points to lead the Eagles while Jose Agosto had a game-high 16 points to lead the Highlanders.

Cosby (47): Jake Ledford 12, Robert Herzog 8, Andrew Adams 7, Seth Wyatt 5, Zach Webb 4, Jake Green 4, Corey Conard 3, Brandon Gates 2, Timmy Humphrey 1, Nick Baxter 1.

Gatlinburg-Pittman (69): Jose Agosto 16, Morrease Barber 13, McKinley Maples 11, Jackson 9, Jon McCroskey 8, Marquise Wall 7, Barton 5.

 

GIRL'S JV

Oh so close! A missed rebound with under nine seconds remaining cost the Lady Eagles (0-1) as the Lady Highlanders held on for a one-point victory, 26-25.

The Lady Highlander led 7-4 at the end of the first quarter, and pushed their lead to 10, 20-10, at the half.

But, the Lady Eagles stormed back, holding the Lady Highlanders scoreless to take a 21-20 lead at the end of the third quarter. It was back and forth the rest of the way. But, with under nine seconds remaining, the Lady Highlanders missed a free throw, and got their own rebound, sealing the Lady Eagles' fate.

Cosby (25): Tiffany Smelcer 9, Dani Butler 4, Maggie Gregg 4, Haley Helton 3, Allie Hooper 3, Lexi Lowery 2.

Gatlinburg-Pittman (26): Sami John 11, Kacie Sumerinski 4, Emily Fischer 4, Claire Troxler 3, Destiny Balser 2, Morgan Manning 2.

 

BOYS JV

It was if the rim had a lid on it for the Eagles (0-2) in the first half, but not for the Highlanders as they came away with the 45-27 victory! The Highlanders stormed out to a 16-0 first quarter lead and never looked back, pushing their advantage to 24-7 at the break.

The Eagles were still having problems finding the rim in the second half as well as the Highlanders led 27-14 at the end of three, and cruised home with the 18-point win.

Cosby (27): Dylan Rone 8, Timmy Smelcer 6, Zach Daruna 3, Cory Swann 2, Drew Schreder 2, Timmy Humphrey 2, Luke Lemons 2, Tate Parton 1, Cory Valentine 1.

Gatlinburg-Pittman (45): Lewis 12, Stewart 10, Soehn 7, Durbin 6, Dixon 4, Chaffin 2, Springer 2, Springmann 2.

 

UP NEXT

Cosby will have little time to regroup as they host their old District 3A foe Greenback on Monday, December 7, at the Eagles' Nest.

Boys JV will tip things off at 5 p.m., followed by girl's varsity at 6:30 p.m. and boy's varsity at around 8 p.m.

Both varsity games will be broadcast live on WLIK, AM-1270, beginning at 6:15 p.m. Brian Evans will have the play-by-play.