Harriman Cruises Past Rockwood in District Semis 61-40

By Terry Futrell

“And all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty-Dumpty together again.” Unfortunately for Rockwood Coach Paul Kamikawa, he didn’t have all the king’s horses and all the king’s men when his Tigers faced Harriman in the District 3-1A semifinals. But he did have Nate Brackett who turned in an exemplary performance both offensively and defensively. Alas, that was not enough to overcome the talent-laden, top-seeded Blue Devils who cruised past Rockwood 61-40 the reach the championship match.

The Tigers stayed with Harriman for the first quarter, trailing only 18-16. But the Blue Devils pulled away in the second quarter, limiting Rockwood to only three points while scoring 13 points. Harriman’s lead at halftime was 31-19. Rockwood fought back in the third quarter and was outscored by Harriman by only one point, 16-15. Once again, the talented Blue Devils pulled away in the fourth period outscoring Rockwood 14-6.

Rockwood’s Brackett sank nine baskets in the contest – three more than any other player on either team. Brackett’s baskets often came through penetration of Harriman’s defense and through capturing offensive rebounds under the basket. Brackett finished the game with 20 points.

Harriman was led by Jaylen McCullum with 23 points, including three 3-point baskets and a remarkable 10 of 10 from the charity stripe. Trezdin Copeland added 16 points for the Blue Devils on six baskets, including two treys. Copeland was also perfect from the free throw line, shooting two of two. As a team, Harriman shot an amazing 15 of 16 free throws for 94%.

Rockwood will face Sunbright in the consolation game on Wednesday at 6:30 PM at Roane State. Harriman faces a tough Oneida team for the District 3-1A championship at 8:00 PM on Wednesday at Roane State.