JOHNSON CITY—With the last meeting between Elizabethton and Science Hill being decided by a thrilling Corey Russell shot from his backside; the Hilltoppers were looking to gain a season split on Friday night inside the Topper Palace.
Elizabethton, meanwhile, was hoping for a Johnson County upset of Sullivan East in Mountain City for the Cyclones to win the regular-season title.
The Cyclones lost on both ends of the spectrum as the Hilltoppers avenged the loss at Elizabethton with a 71-57 win while the Longhorns fell in overtime to Johnson County 77-68 to give Elizabethton the two-seed heading into Wednesday night’s tournament opener.
“I never thought we got into much of an offense because they did a good job pressuring our guards and keeping us off balance,” said Cyclone head coach Lucas Honeycutt. “We jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and gave it right back, and I thought we turned the ball over on careless turnovers which I think was the story of the game.”
The game was everything everyone thought it would be and more as the contest was loosely called providing for physical play on both ends of the court.
Science Hill forged a two-point lead at the end of the first half, 29-27, as the Cyclones once down by eight came storming back to narrow the gap.
Corey Russell and Alex Norwood pumped in eight points each to lead the Cyclone assault in the half.
Andrew Bishop scored eight in leading the ‘Toppers to the edge at the break. Nate Jackson added six.
Science Hill grabbed the lead at the end of the third stop on the heels of a 25-17 quarter. Seven ‘Toppers found the scoring column in the frame led by seven from Bowden Lyon.
Michael Robinson, who had been held in check in the first half, came alive for seven in the quarter for Elizabethton. Hayden Townsend added six.
With the memory of the last game hanging in their heads, the ‘Toppers didn’t look back with the lead in the fourth quarter as Science Hill outscored the Cyclones 17-13 to take the 14-point win.
The story of the game was the length of the ‘Topper defense as they blocked several shots offered by the Cyclones.
“I would like to know how many shots they blocked,” added Honeycutt. “A lot of them were on three’s, and you don’t get that many blocks on three’s. They did a real good job of timing those and getting off their feet”
Colby Martin paced the ‘Toppers with a game-high 15 points followed by Bowden Lyon with 11. Nate Jackson added nine in the win.
Townsend caught fire in the fourth to finish with a team-high 14 for the Cyclones. After setting a single-game scoring mark in his last game, Robinson managed only 13 against the tight Science Hill defense.
Russell added 10 while Eric Wilson and Norwood finished with eight points apiece.
Elizabethton tips off district tournament action at 8 pm Wednesday against the seventh-seed at Unicoi County High School.
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Science Hill, 71-57
Elizabethton (57)
3Adam Cornett 2, Michael Robinson 13, Eric Wilson 8, Corey Russell 10, Hayden Townsend 14, Alex Norwood 8, Carter Everett 2.
Science Hill (71)
Nate Jackson 9, Holden Hensley 3, Jerriah Love 2, Colby Martin 15, Bowden Lyon 11, David Bryant 8, Tate Wheeler 7, Kendle Cutlip 2, Junior Danso 6, Andrew Bishop 8.
Elizabethton…. 16 11 17 13 – 57
Science Hill….. 18 11 25 17 – 71
3-Pt Goals: Elizabethton 5 (Michael Robinson, Corey Russell, Eric Wilson, Hayden Townsend 2). Science Hill 4 (Colby Martin, Holden Hensley, David Bryant 2).