Panthers score from inside, outside to rout Lenoir City
Dec. 5—A size advantage is a plus for any team in a basketball game, especially when the size advantage includes a 6-foot-5 post player and a 6-foot-5 guard who can score.
In addition to that, a solid defensive even adds to the victory. That's what happened Saturday night when the Panthers rolled over Lenoir City, 81-51, in Crossville.
"We had a size advantage, and I think they tried to make it an up-and-down game," said Stone Memorial coach Neil Capps.
"We like to run. Our guys are working on our defense, and we've gotten better each night. We had a few mistakes tonight, but we were able to do a better job from the second quarter on."
The win was Stone's fifth straight and moves them to 6-1 on the year. Lenoir City falls to 2-5 overall.
The Panthers went inside to their big man Brady Lane and it paid off. Lane scored almost at will as Stone Memorial led 20-12 after the first period. SMHS then outscored Lenoir City 22-14 in the second quarter to take a 42-26 lead at halftime.
"We were getting some good stops in the first half," said coach Capps. "They were shooting it well. We did not do a good job of contesting early, but we fixed that. Lenoir City hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter, but had only six for the game. That's a good defensive effort."
The second half of action was a back-and-forth. Cade Capps got hot, hitting shots from outside, but then also driving past defenders when they came out to confront him. With Capps' performance, and Lane's presence inside, the Panthers led 63-35 after three quarters before posting the final 81-51 margin.
"We had to work on our post presence," coach Capps said. "We had 26 2-point buckets, and the majority of them were probably in the paint. We wanted to work on a lot of things with our size advantage because we're not going to have that all season. You've got to be able to score in the paint if you want to be successful."
Cade Capps had a game-high 28 points, while Lane scored 26. Preston Mayberry scored nine and Wyatt Grothe added eight. Kayne Bosanko chipped in with five points and Kaydn Page had three. Jordan Mannis scored three
Drew Henry led Lenoir City in scoring with 17 points. Nathan Deacon contributed 14 points.
"Brady is playing well. And it takes you a while to adjust from football to basketball," coach Capps said.
"People think it is easy. Football is completely different than basketball. The thing with Brady is his motor. He plays hard and competes all the time.
"Wyatt took over the reigns of point guard this year and he gets better every game. Braiden Elliott does a lot of good things for us. He's a good passer and a good rebounder. Kane is coming into his own. Jayden Eldridge is back now from injury, so it will take some time for him to get back into the swing of things."
Stone Memorial will be back on the court Dec. 5 when it hosts Clarkrange. The boys game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
