Sullivan East boys clinch Three Rivers Conference title

BY JOHNNY WILSON
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – John Dyer wasn’t about to miss the party.

“I’m not going to miss this,” said the 22-year head coach at Sullivan East, as his boys basketball team cut down the nets to celebrate a conference championship Tuesday night. “I’ve waited too long.”

Dyer put the media on hold for a few moments after his Patriots won the inaugural Three Rivers Conference title with a hard-fought 66-59 victory over second-place Unicoi County.

No one can remember the last time that East – longtime conference rivals with such strongboys as Science Hill, Dobyns-Bennett and Tennessee High – climbed a ladder to claim a piece of history.
“It’s the first time in a long, long time, I know that,” said Patriot point guard Jordan Cross. “It’s an awesome feeling. It’s something that you just can’t describe.”

It was the 6-foot-2 Cross who propelled East (9-0, 22-4) to this victory, shining in every area as the Patriots were forced to hold off a determined bunch of Blue Devils (7-2, 21-5) in the second half.
A junior, Cross led East with 17 points and nearly 10 assists.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” said Blue Devil coach John English. “He’s very special. He put them on his shoulders. just like he did [in another seven-point East win] in the fourth quarter over at our place.”
East played well as a team and dominated the first half, forcing 12 turnovers with blanketing defense and hitting six of 13 3-point shots, to grab a 33-14 lead at intermission before Unicoi County made a strong push over the last 16 minutes.

“We played an incredible first half,” gushed Dyer. “But Unicoi, being the championship program that they are, never went away.
“We missed too many foul shots and they hurt us on the boards, but we hung on and this is just an incredible victory for us.”

Chase DePew hit a pair of 3-pointers and Chance Davis, Trey Gilreath and Cross followed with 3s of their own as East ran out to a 19-8 lead after one period.
East did not let up in the second quarter, as the Blue Devils wilted in the face of tough defensive pressure.

“They obviously came out ready to play and hungry, and I didn’t feel like we did,” said English. “We did come out with a lot of heart in the second half and made a run, but you can’t dig a hole like we did against a great team like East.”

Unicoi County showed up in the second half behind 6-5, 240-pound Tyler Turner (20 points), crashing the boards hard to get back to within 49-38 heading into the final period.
But every time Blue Devils would make the home crowd a little nervous, Cross would make a big play after breaking down defenders off the dribble, either scoring on mid-range jumpers or finding open teammates.

“I’ve worked on my ballhandling skills a lot in the backyard,” said Cross. “All my life.”

DePew and Gilreath each scored 12 points to back Cross, both hitting clutch free throws to hold off the Blue Devils late.

“Their team is more than just Jordan Cross, make no mistake,” said English. “But you’ve got to give him extra [defensive] attention and when you do that, you get burned somewhere else.”
Unicoi County, which made of six of its 3s in the second half, received 18 points from Holden Tolley.

The Blue Devils committed four straight turnovers early in the fourth quarter to slow their second-half momentum, falling back behind 55-41 before rallying once again to close to within six points with 18 seconds remaining.
GIRLS

Unicoi County 53, Sullivan East 50

Unicoi County got 21 points from Ivory Shelton and withstood a furious Sullivan East rally in the fourth quarter to secure second place in the Three Rivers.
The Blue Devils (7-2, 19-6) led 44-31 heading into the final period before East (5-4, 11-13) staged a comeback that ended with a missed 3-point attempt at the final horn.

Angel Trent was the lone Patriot in double figures with 16 points.

Unicoi County led 27-22 at halftime, as East had no answer inside for the towering Shelton.