Harriman Faces Oliver Springs for Region 2-1A Boys Championship

By Terry Futrell

The preliminaries are all over – Harriman and Oliver Springs remain victorious and will face each other for the Region 2-1A championship Thursday evening at Harriman.

Oakdale Zoned Out by Oliver Springs 66-53

Putting forth a valiant effort, the Oakdale Eagles found that effort alone is not enough. Faced with the formidable zone defense of the Oliver Springs Bobcats, the Eagles had to rely on outside shooting in their semifinal matchup. Even though Oakdale poured in 11 3-point baskets, the Eagles simply could not get an inside game going against the Bobcat defense and made only six 2-point baskets in the game.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats were also raining 3-pointers, connecting on 10 baskets from long range. The Bobcats also made 10 2-point baskets. Free throws were also a real difference maker in the game. Oliver Springs hit 14 of 20 free throws, while Oakdale was 8 of 10 from the free throw line.

Oakdale dominated the first quarter of play, outscoring the Bobcats 19-12. But the Bobcats found their rhythm in the second, pouring in five 3-point baskets and outscoring the Eagles 26-8. Oliver Springs led 38-27 at the half.

Oakdale mounted a comeback in the third period with 3-point baskets by Jacob Nance, Joseph Summers, and Sydney Gregory. The Eagles outscored Oliver Springs 13-8 and trimmed the Bobcat lead to 46-40.

The Eagles hit three more treys sin the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 9-7 in baskets. But Bobcat Keaton McDonald hit 8 of 8 free throws down the stretch to help seal the 66-53 victory for Oliver Springs.

Oakdale was led by Gregory with 16 points, Summers with 14 points, and Nehemiah Cooney with 12 points. Nance also scored nine points for the Eagles. The Bobcats were led by McDonald with 23 points, Tanner Melton with 18 points, and Bryson Marler with 15 points.

Oliver Springs secured a spot in sectional play next Monday, but must first play Harriman for the Region 2-1A championship on Thursday.

Harriman Overpowers Oneida 65-48

The slow-starting Harriman Blue Devils fell behind the Oneida Indians 21-15 in the first quarter, and it looked as if the Indians might pull off the upset. Oneida’s Jacob Perry was on fire and poured in three 3-point baskets and scored 14 points in the first period.

The Blue Devil defense kicked into gear in the second period and held Oneida to three baskets and eight points. Harriman put 11 points on the board and trimmed Oneida’s lead to 29-26 at the half.

Two words describe what happened after the break – Jordan and X-man! The two big men from Harriman literally took over the game. Jordan McCullum went inside and scored five baskets in the period, with Xavier Hickman adding four baskets. Harriman’s defense held the Indians to only two baskets in the third. The Blue Devils outscored Oneida 20-5 and took a 46-34 lead.

McCullum upped his game even more in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points. Even though Oneida connected on four 3-point baskets, Harriman’s scoring advantage in the period was 20-14 and the Blue Devils took the victory by a 65-48 margin.

Harriman was led by McCullum with 29 points, 23 of which were scored in the second half of the game. Hickman added 16 points for the Blue Devils, including 10 second-half points. Perry led the Indians with 19 points, and Mason Keeton added 14 points.

Harriman moves on to face Oliver Springs for the Region 2-1A championship on Thursday and then to sectional play next Monday.