Cougars Emerge With Victory In Bruising Game Against Patriots

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – Sullivan Central senior forward Tyler DeVault went down hard. DeVault rose up for a layup attempt, drew contact, fell and then crashed against a hardwood floor.

He stayed down for a moment. Then DeVault shook off the blow, picked himself up and walked to the free-throw line. He hit both of his foul shots. Seconds later, DeVault stuffed a Sullivan East shot attempt. Soon after that, DeVault sank an inside 2.

DeVault was back. And the Cougars were on their way.

“It hurt a little bit, but I had to come back from it,” said DeVault, who scored 20 points as Sullivan Central downed Sullivan East 82-68 Tuesday evening in a Big Nine Conference contest at the Dickie Warren Dome.

“It kind of just motivated me more to keep playing,” DeVault said.

Despite the lopsided final score, the game was filled with bruising, physical play in which several players from each team absorbed hard body shots and were sent to the floor.

The plight of East (12-9, 6-6) junior forward Zane Campbell captured the contest’s intensity.

Campbell fell and twisted his right ankle early in the first quarter. Then, late in the second period, Campbell turned his left ankle and was removed from the game.

“I’m done,” Campbell said at halftime.

Campbell spent the remainder of the game on the bench. And he wasn’t the only one forced to sit out.

Two East players and one Central (14-9, 5-6) player were sent to the sideline in the fourth quarter, when play became heated.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t have a word for it,” Patriots senior point guard Jo Jo Johnson said. “It was pretty physical.”

Nathan Vannoy scored a game-high 25 to lead the Cougars. Patrick Albright and Zach Sturgill poured in 11 points apiece.

Koree Deeb scored a team-high 23 points for East, while Jordan Cross added 13 and Justin Gross contributed 11.

Central opened the game with a 13-0 run. The Cougars pushed the tempo, settled in, and then ran precise offensive sets that exposed holes in East’s half-court defense.

Vannoy’s 3-pointer from the right wing stretched Central’s lead to 32-14 with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Cougars then took a 46-24 advantage into halftime.

A recharged East emerged from the break. The Patriots outscored Central 18-16 in the third period and put up 26 points in the fourth quarter, as they rediscovered their trademark motion offense and scrappy defensive play.

“We’ll go all the way to the end with anybody,” Johnson said.

SULLIVAN EAST (68) – Johnson 0, Chase DePew 10, Koree Deeb 23, Jordan Cross 13, Justin Gross 11, Gilreath 6, Campbell 1, James 4. Totals 22 12-18 68.
SULLIVAN CENTRAL (82) – Roberts 1, Hall 0, Box 0, Harmon 5, Tyler DeVault 20, Hyden 4, Nathan Vannoy 25, Whittington 0, Patrick Albright 11, Winchell 3, Zach Sturgill 11, Clark 2. Totals 32 14-23 82.
Sullivan East 12 12 18 26–68
Sullivan Central 23 23 16 20–82
3-point goals – SE 11 (DePew, Deeb 4, Cross, Gross 3, Gilreath 2); SC 4 (Harmon, Vannoy 3).

Sullivan Central 51, Sullivan East 34

The games are getting bigger. And Cougars junior forward Erika Blizard is playing bigger.

Blizard dominated the Patriots in the paint, scoring a game-high 18 points, and guiding Central (16-5, 7-4) to another Big Nine victory.

“We want to finish up the conference as [well] as we can,” Blizard said. “It’s all about the [Big Nine district] tournament for us right now.”

Whitney Moody added 16 points for the Cougars, and Brittany Fields contributed nine.

Kelsey Trivett’s team-high eight points topped East.

The Patriots trailed by just four at the end of the first quarter. But a relatively tight contest broke wide open in the second period, as Blizard and Moody propelled Central on an 11-2 run to close out the first half.

“I feel like we played really good,” Sullivan East freshman point guard Angel Trent said. “It’s a hard loss.”

SULLIVAN EAST (34) – McGrew 7, Dishner 3, Trent 2, Bawgus 2, King 3, Loudermilk 0, Parsons 0, Hamilton 3, Moyher 0, Roberts 6, Trivett 8. Totals 13 2-11 34.
SULLIVAN CENTRAL (51) – Kestner 6, Fields 9, Pope 0, Grant 0, Hobbs 0, Phillipe 0, Whitney Moody 16, McMurray 0, Erika Blizard 18, Sabo 1, Samples 0, Jones 1, Riley 0. Totals 18 12-20 51.
Sullivan East 10 10 6 8–34
Sullivan Central 14 18 10 9–51
3-point goals – SE 4 (McGrew, Roberts 2, Hamilton); SC 1(Fields).

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