Area 4 Champs Crowned

    SUNBRIGHT—Morgan County teams swept the Area 4 Championships Saturday night at Sunbright.

Brian Langley

The Oakdale Eagles (12-6) captured the 2012 Area 4 Championship with a 50-41 victory over Coalfield Saturday night.

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Brian Langley

The Coalfield Lady Jackets (17-4) captured the 2012 Area 4 Championship with a 27-22 victory over Sunbright Saturday night.

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    The Coalfield Lady Jackets knocked off host Sunbright 27-22 in overtime, while the Oakdale Eagles rallied in the second half for a 50-41 victory over Coalfield.
    Six Morgan County basketball teams will be making an appearance at the TMSAA East Tennessee Class A Sectional Basketball Tournament to be held at Catlettsburg Elementary School. Coalfield, Sunbright and Oakdale all will send both their boys and girls  teams to the tournament, which starts this Saturday, February 4.  
GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP
    Coalfield defeated a familiar opponent to capture their third Area 4 Title in four years. It was the fourth time the Lady Jackets had beaten Sunbright this season with a 27-22 overtime victory over the Lady Tigers.
    “We’ve been really fortunate down at Coalfield to have some good kids come through the program. There are good teachers and leaders down there at Coalfield to give us every opportunity to coach and do what we need to do with them. It is just a real pleasure to work with them,” said Coalfield head coach Kevin Walls.
    Coalfield got defensive when they needed to the most-overtime. They held the Lady Tigers scoreless and used a 5-0 edge to pull off the five-point win in the extra period.
    “It was a battle. The girls played really hard and they practiced really well all week,” said Coalfield head coach Kevin Walls.
    “The way this thing works out, with the Hollis Eble, Morgan County Tournament, and the district tournament, this is the fifth time we’ve played Sunbright this season. We both know each other really well.”
    Sunbright led 9-6 late in the first quarter and was up 9-8 at the end of one with Chelsea Smith leading the way for the Lady Tigers with four points.
    Coalfield’s defense stepped up in the second quarter and held the Lady Tigers scoreless in the second quarter in building a 16-9 advantage. MVP Grace Hensley tallied four points in the second quarter to match her points in the opening stanza to lead the Lady Jackets.
    “I think our defense was key. We came out and played our box and chaser again and then we ended up having to go triangle-and-two. The girls played really hard and really got after it. You couldn’t ask for much more from them,” said Walls.
    Sunbright came alive in the third quarter and used a 9-2 edge to tie the game at 18. Sunbright’s Shelley Shannon hit a three-pointer to knot the count at 18.
    The game never was more than two points in the fourth quarter. Sunbright’s Halle Stephens hit the biggest shot of the period when she put back a missed shot to tie the game at 27 with :58 left to put the game into overtime.         Coalfield’s Taylor Bird (6 points) and Sunbright’s Shannon (a trey) led their teams during the fourth frame.
    In overtime. Coalfield won the game at the charity stripe with a 5 of 11 showing and kept the Lady Tigers scoreless to post a 27-22 championship win. Bird hit three freebies to lead the way.
    “They all stepped up and Taylor Bird really stepped up at the end. She had nine big points in the fourth quarter and overtime,” Walls said.
    Sunbright won the battle of the boards by a 31-29 margin. Coalfield used 11 steals to help secure the win.
    Coalfield was led by the scoring trio of Taylor Bird (11 points), Grace Hensley (9 points, 10 rebounds) and Kaylea Foster (6 points, 6 rebounds). Chelsea Berry (4 points, 9 rebounds) and McKenzie Cox (3 points, 7 steals, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) both played well in the win.
    The Lady Tigers were paced by the 1-2 punch of Shelley Shannon (11 points, 5 rebounds) and Chelsea Smith (6 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds). Mercedes Chandler (6 rebounds) and Kelsey Crabtree (5 boards) each chipped in four points, while Halle Stephens added two points and eight rebounds.
    LADY JACKETS (33): Taylor Bird 11, Grace Hensley 9, Kaylea Foster 6, Chelsea Berry 4 and McKenzie Cox 3. Three-pointers (1)—Bird 1.
    LADY TIGERS (27): Shelley Shannon 11, Chelsea Smith 6, Mercedes Chandler 4, Kelsey Crabtree 4 and Halle Stephens 2. Three-pointers (3)—Shannon 3.
    Coalfield will play at 5 p.m. next Monday, February 6, while Sunbright is set to play Saturday at 11:15 a.m..
    “I think if we go up there and play really hard, we have a really good chance to move on in to next Saturday, the 11th,” said Walls.
GIRLS CONSOLATION
    The #3-seed Oakdale Lady Eagles punched their ticket to the East Tennessee Sectionals with a 45-32 win over #4-seed Petros-Joyner Saturday evening.
    The Lady Eagles led from start to finish to get the 13-point victory.
    The Lady Patriots got as close as six (29-23) early in the fourth quarter before Oakdale closed the game on a 16-9 run to secure the win.
    Oakdale was led by the backcourt duo of Autumn Monkhouse (17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals) and Ellen Everett (12 points, 3 rebounds). Natalie Stewart (6 points, 6 rebounds), Hannah Coffey (4 points, 5 boards), Macayla Davidson (4 points, 5 rebounds) and Kaylee Redmon (2 points, 4 boards) all played well in the win.
    P.J. was paced by Savannah Melton (15 points, 8 rebounds). Hannah Lowe (6 points, 3 steals), Hannah Wright (4 points, 6 boards, 3 steals) and Kelsi Walters (3 points, 9 rebounds) added offense for the Lady Patriots. Sydney Hall (1 point, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists) played a good floor game.
    LADY EAGLES (45): Autumn Monkhouse 17, Ellen Everett 12, Natalie Stewart 6, Hannah Coffey 4, Macayla Davidson 4 and Kaylee Redmon 2. Three-pointers (4)—Monkhouse 2 and Everett 2.
    LADY PATRIOTS (32): Savannah Melton 15, Hannah Lowe 6, Hannah Wright 4, Kelsi Walters 3, Micah Moore 2, Sydney Hall 1 and Brianna Brys 1. Three-pointers (2)—Wright 1 and Walters 1.
BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
    Basketball seasons are defined by tournament success. Oakdale’s 2011-12 season can now be classified as very successful after enjoying an exciting 50-41 victory over top-seed Coalfield for the Area 4 Championship Saturday night.
    “I believe its the first middle school district championship in a long time if ever at Oakdale. It was nice for everybody involved to win the championship,“ said Oakdale head coach Nathan Bingham.
    “It was nice to battle it out and actually come out on top.”
    The Eagles (12-6) avenged a pair of regular season losses to Coalfield with a championship victory in a game OMS trailed by as many as seven points in the second half. Oakdale had defeated Coalfield back in the pre-season Hollis Eble Tournament.
    “They played really hard. We had two games against each other and we couldn’t get over the hump. The guys came together and it was a good win for us,” said Bingham.
    Coalfield led 12-8 after one quarter of play with Austin Lowe hitting a pair of three-pointers to keep the Eagles close.
    The Jackets used a 10-8 edge in the second quarter to take a 22-16 lead into the break. Austin Russell scored six points in the first half to lead the Jackets, while Tyler Steinmetz’ nine paced the Eagles.
    Coalfield was up 28-21 midway through the third quarter before Oakdale went on an 11-0 run to take a 32-28 lead with one quarter remaining. MVP Maverick Smith scored nine points for the Eagles during the pivotal third quarter.
    The scoring paced picked up in the final six minutes with the two teams combining for 31 points. The game was tied at 34 halfway through the fourth before the Eagles ended the game on a 16-7 run for the 50-41 win. Oakdale only led 43-37 with under two minutes left, but the Eagles hit seven free throws to salt the game away.
    “In the second half, Maverick (Smith) and (Tyler Steinmetz) really took over. They started penetrating and driving the lane. They got the other players involved and that was huge for us,” Bingham said.
    The Jackets held a slim 32-28 edge in rebounds.
    Oakdale was powered by the 1-2 punch of Maverick Smith (17 points, 17 rebounds) and Tyler Steinmetz (14 points, 3 rebounds). Austin Lowe (9 points), Dillan Webb (6 points, 3 boards, 3 assists) and Brady Bingham (3 points, 3 rebounds) all played well in the win.
    The Jackets were led by the scoring trio of Austin Russell (10 points, 11 rebounds), Logan Fadnek (9 points, 12 rebounds) and Parker McKinney (8 points). Ryan Browning chipped in six points and six rebounds.
    EAGLES (50): Maverick Smith 17, Tyler Steinmetz 14, Austin Lowe 9, Dillan Webb 6, Brady Bingham 3 and Ethan Johnson 1. Three-pointers (4)—Lowe 3 and Steinmetz 1.
    JACKETS (41): Austin Russell 10, Logan Fadnek 9, Parker McKinney 8, Ryan Browning 6, Jacob Ariaz 3, James Lee 2 and Tyler Keathley 2. Three-pointers (1)—Ariaz 1.
    Oakdale is set to play next Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m., while the Jackets will play this Saturday, February 4 at 1:45 p.m.
    “Our goal is to go all the way. We have the group to do it. It will come down to rebounding and playing defense. We’re going to have to battle defensively. Our offense will take care of itself,” Bingham said.
BOYS CONSOLATION
    Aaron Spurling’s #4-seed Sunbright Tigers earned a trip to the sectionals with a 40-33 victory over #3-seed Norwood Saturday evening.
    Sunbright defended their homecourt to secure the trip to Catlettsburg.
    Trailing 14-11 at the half, the Tigers used a 16-5 edge in the third quarter to propel them to the victory over Norwood.
    Sunbright was led by the scoring trio of Noah Freels (13 points, 6 rebounds), Landon Ladd (8 points, 8 rebounds) and Braxton Swint (8 points). Logan Brown (6 points, 13 rebounds) and Eli Dial (5 points, 6 boards, 3 steals) played well in the win.
    TIGERS (40): Noah Freels 13, Landon Ladd 8, Braxton Swint 8, Logan Brown 6 and Eli Dial 5. Three-pointers (4)—Freels 2 and Swint 2.
    Sunbright is set to play this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.