Oneida Outlasts Sunbright in District Semis 77-68

February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 admin featured

By Terry Futrell

There is an old song, The Cat Came Back, that was made popular by the New Christy Minstrels in the 1960s. The song lyrics include the catchphrase “But the cat came back for it wouldn’t stay away.” In the District 3-1A boys semifinals, the cat wore stripes and came in the form of the Sunbright Tigers.

After trailing Oneida 23-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers came back for the first time and closed the gap to 28-26 with 3:15 to go in the second period. Oneida once again pulled ahead for a 34-28 halftime lead.

The Tigers came back again and closed the gap to 36-33 with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter. Oneida surged once again to a 46-37 lead with three minutes to go in the third. The Tigers refused to go away and came back to narrow the Indians lead to 52-45 at the end of three.

Oneida pulled out to a 59-47 lead at 6:27 to go in the fourth, but once again the Tigers came back to cut the Oneida lead to five points at 61-56 with 3:41 to go in the game. Sunbright stayed within five points at 72-67 with 48 seconds remaining. This time, there was no magical comeback as the fouling began and Oneida pulled away in the last minute to a 77-68 victory.

The Tigers turned in one of their best performances of the season against the Indians whose physical size and collapsing zone made it very difficult for Sunbright to go inside. But Wesley Bohanan fought his way inside and scored 26 points for Sunbright, including 10 of 14 free throw shooting. Josh Langley was once again masterful in bringing the ball up court against Oneida’s pressure defense and also scored 15 points, finding ways to penetrate the Oneida zone for shots near the basket. Hunter Bunch added 10 points for the Tigers.

Oneida was led by Nate Bowling, who sank nine baskets and shot 7 of 12 from the free throw line for 27 points. Bowling’s 27 points was the highest of both semifinal games. Dalton Yancey was a force inside for the Indians, sinking six baskets and shooting 5 of 5 from the free throw line for 17 points. Chance Botts added 12 points for the Indians.

Sunbright will play Rockwood in the consolation game on Wednesday at 6:30 PM at Roane State. The Oneida Indians face Harriman for the district championship at 8:00 PM Wednesday at Roane State.