Tigers Advance To Drexel Tourney Title Game
The Kingsville boys basketball team recorded early-round wins over Chilhowee and Midway last week to earn a spot in the first-place game of the William D. Gordon Holiday Basketball Tournament hosted by Drexel High School.
The Tigers defeated Chilhowee by the final score of 70-35 in first-round action of the tournament on Friday, Dec. 27.
Versus the Indians, Kingsville jumped out to a 27-4 lead after a quarter of play and expanded the margin to 43-16 at halftime.
Twenty-three points scored by Kingsville in the third quarter was offset by nine points from Chilhowee in the same period. The Indians posted a 10-4 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter as Kingsville eased into the 70-35 first-round win.
Versus Chilhowee, John Fleeman scored 19 points, Brady Stout had 16 points, and Brayden Barnett scored 15 points to put three Tiger players in double digits. Blake Utterback scored 8 points, Christian Stevenson and Isaac Hawthorne each scored 5 points, and Gavin Mullins chipped in 2 points.
For Chilhowee, Luke Anstine scored a team-high 11 points, Holden Dean had 10 points, Anthony Gutridge and Levi Jenkins each had 5 points, and with 2 points each were Aaron Wirsig and Ethan Pemberton.
Kingsville followed its first-round victory with a win over Midway in the semifinal round of the tournament as the Tigers defeated the Vikings by the final score of 55-47 on Saturday, Dec. 28.
Midway challenged Kingsville in the first quarter as the Tigers ended the period with a one-point lead with the score at 13-12. Kingsville used a 13-9 scoring advantage in the second period to hold a 26-21 lead at halftime.
Kingsville put 10 points on the scoreboard in the third quarter as the Vikings scored nine points in the same period.
The Tigers held for the win by scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter versus Midway’s 17 points in the final frame.
For Kingsville, Gavin Mullins scored a team-high 14 points with 12 of those coming on four made three-point shots. Brady Stout scored 9 points, John Fleeman had 8 points, Christian Stevenson and Isaac Hawthorne each had 6 points, and Blake Utterback chipped in a field goal for 2 points.
The semifinal win over Midway moved the Tigers into the first-place game of the William D. Gordon Holiday Classic with Kingsville set to face the host team Drexel Bobcats on Monday, Dec. 30. Game results were not available at press time.
Drexel’s route to the first-place game of the William D. Gordon Holiday Classic included a first-round win over Heartland (Belton) by the final score of 56-25, and a semifinal round win over Lutheran (KC) by the final score of 60-44.
